'^^mWB'^sw'Mm^-:>i  ''■^ 


HD 


UC-NRLF 


B    E    flE3    2D3 


ijjiljilllilj 


|i:i:i::::!!!| 


!!)'!::!!:il 


liiliHiiii 


jiijijiliiilil 


Ijillji 

lijiiiijiil 


((^:^-^  c..y>2^< 


C^^^  ^r  ^ 


MINNESOTA  DEPARTMENT  OF 

LABOR  AND  INDUSTRIES 

BUREAU  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 

LOUISE  E.  SCHUTZ.  Superintendent 
St.  Paul,  Minnesota 


WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

IN  MINNESOTA  IN  1918 


FIELD  INVESTIGATION 

Carried  on  by 

Women  in  Industry  Committee 
Council  of  National  Defence 

and 

Bureau  of  Women  and  Children 


MINNESOTA  DEPARTMENT  OF 
''    LABOR  AND  INDUSTRIES 
BUREAU  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 

LOUISE  E.  SCHUTZ,  Superintendent 


WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY 

IN  MINNESOTA  IN  1918 


FIELD  INVESTIGATION 

Carried  on  by 

Women  in  Industry  Committee 
Council  of  National  Defence 

and 

Bureau  of  Women  and  Children 


Written  by 
^  CAROL  ARONOVICI.  Ph.  D. 
Special  Agent  for  the  State  Department  of  Labor  ond  Industries 


CONTENTS 


Letter   of   Transmittal 3 

Foreword     4-5 

Extent  of  the  Investigation 6 

Analytical   Tables    6-33 

Industries  and  Wages,  Tables  1  to  4 6-9 

Marital  Condition  and  Family  Support,  Tables  5  to  7 9-11 

Marital  Condition  and  Support  of  Children,  Tables  8  to  10 11-13 

Wages,  Ages,  and  Trade,  Tables  11  to  29 14-24 

.  Hours  of  Labor,  Tables  30  to  36 24-28 

Nativity   and    Conjugal   Condition   of   Wage   Earners,    Tables    37 

to  47   * 28-33 

Recommendations    34 

Conclusions   35 


V  LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 

'in**    ' 

Minnesota  Department  of  Labor  and  Industries 
Bureau  of  Women  and  Children 

St.  Paul,  June  11,  1920. 
Sir:  We  have  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  the  report  giving  the 
results  of  the  survey  made  by  the  Committee  of  Women  in  Industry, 
Women's  Division,  Minnesota  Commission  of  Public  Safety,  United  States 
Council  of  Defense,  and  the  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children,  Department 
of  Labor  and  Industries. 

The  survey  was  begun  in  March,  1918,  at  a.  time  when,  because  of  the 
great  war  and  the  need  of  increased  production,  it  seemed  that  women  in 
larger  numbers  than  ever  before  were  engaging  in  work  outside  the  home. 
The  survey  was  closed  in  December,  1919. 

The  members  of  the  state  committee  were:  Miss  Agnes  L.  Peterson, 
superintendent  of  the  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children,  Chairman;  Miss 
Victoria  Ericson,  Duluth;  Miss  Florence  Burton,  Minneapolis;  and  Miss 
Louise  E.  Schutz,  St.  Paul,  inspectors  of  the  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children; 
Mr.  E.  G.  Hall,  president  of  the  Minnesota  State  Federation  of  Labor,  Min- 
neapolis. 

After  Miss  Peterson  was  called  for  federal  work.  Miss  Louise  E.  Schutz, 
who  was  made  active  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Women  in  Industry 
and  superintendent  of  the  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children,  directed  the  work 
to  its  close  and  completed  the  survey. 

Members  of  the  Women's  Committee  in  all  but  seven  of  the  eighty-six 
counties  in  the  state  took  part  in  the  work  and  made  the  survey  possible. 

The  statistical  work  was  done  by  the  staiff  of  the  Bureau  of  Women 
and  Children  in  co-operation  with  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of 
Labor  and  Industries. 

The  report  was  written  by  Carol  Aronovici,  Ph.D. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

LOUISp  E.   SCHUTZ, 
Superintendent  of  the  Bureau  of  Women  and  Children. 
Hon.  J.  A.  A.  Burnquist,  Governor  of  Minnesota, 
State  Capitol,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 


417961 


WOMEN  IN  INDUSTRY  IN  MINNESOTA 

FOREWORD. 

The  data  upon  which  the  following  study  is  based  were  gathered  by 
volunteers  in  the  various  committees  throughout  the  state  of  Minnesota, 
where  a  sufficient  number  of  women  were  employed  to  justify  a  local  in- 
quiry. 

While  the  collection  of  statistical  data  by  volunteers  is  open  to  some 
objections,  the  fact  that  the  work  was  done  during  the  war,  and  that  the 
women  giving  their  services  were  selected  among  the  leaders  in  community 
service  in  each  locality  who  had  already  done  work  requiring  accurate  study 
and  recording  of  facts,  and  the  prompt  and  painstaking  way  in  which  the 
reports  were  returned,  would  warrant  confidence  in  the  data  both  as  rep- 
resentative of  conditions  in  the  particular  localities  studied,  and  as  char- 
acteristic of  the  distribution,  wages  and  employment  of  women  throughout 
the  state  of  Minnesota. 

Of  the  many  women  intrusted  with  the  investigation  of  conditions  in 
their  own  locality  some  of  course  failed  to  make  returns,  while  those  who 
were  compelled  to  delay  their  work  were  in  most  instances  prevented  by  ill- 
ness, war  work  or  difficulties  placed  in  the  way  of  the  investigators  by 
employers  of  women  labor. 

The  committee  on  women  in  industry  of  the  Council  of  National  De- 
fense, under  whose  auspices  the  investigation  was  carried  on,  had  a  double 
object  in  view  when  the  work  was  launched.  The  committee  desired  ac- 
curate data  relative  to  women  workers  in  the  state  which  could  be  used 
in  the  shaping  of  a  constructive  policy  for  the  protection  of  women  wage 
earners;  and  also  to  inform  the  local  communities,  particularly  the  leaders, 
as  to  the  local  conditions  which  they  could  be  instrumental  in  improving. 

The  vast  correspondence  carried  on  in  connection  with  this  work  brought 
daily  evidence  of  the  enlightening  influence  that  the  personal  investigation 
of  conditions  was  having.  Selecting  at  random  from  the  many  letters,  we 
may  quote  the  following  sentences  as  characteristic:  "The  work  is  very 
interesting  and  I  am  grateful  for  the  privilege  of  assisting.  A  very  important 
and  worthy  work,  for  this  is  the  ideal  way  of  obtaining  information  first 
hand  and  correctly  oh  such  matters."  "I  do  not  wish  to  give  up  this  public 
work,  and  have  been  too  selfish  to  let  any  one  else  do  it  for  you."  "My, 
what  a  lot  there  is  which  might  be  accomplished  if  everybody  lived  with 
the  thought  of  making  the  best  of  himself  and  doing  the  work  for  others." 

The  educational  value  to  the  women  who  helped  make  the  survey  can* 
not  be  estimated,  but  without  doubt  many  women,  for  the  first  time,  became 
interested  in  the  working  girl  and  the  conditions  under  which  she  works. 
Some  learned  that  we  have  in  Minnesota  Child  Welfare  Boards,  and  Mothers' 
Pensions  are  available  under  certain  conditions  in  cases  where  there  is 
need.  As  the  result  of  investigations,  questions  came  into  the  bureau  of 
women  and  children  asking  what  course  should  be  taken  when  neglected 
children  were  discovered,  or  when  hard  working,  deserving  women  were 
found  who,  in  spite  of  their  best  efforts,  had  neither  the  time  nor  money 
to  give  their  children  proper  care  and  the  necessities  of  life.  Some  women 
were  astonished  to  find  that  girls  in  telephone  and  telegraph  establishments 
in  small  towns,  where  we  are  prone  to  believe  that  there  are  no  abuses, 
were  working  from  105  to  168  hours  per  week,  and  often  stayed  all  night 
in  the  exchange,  even  when  it  was  in  an  isolated  place. 


From  one  small  town  came  this  revelation:  "There  are  at  least  30  wo- 
men in  the  village  who  go  out  working  by  the  day  hoeing,  cutting  sugar 
cane,  husking  com,  scrubbing,  washing,  and  some  even  pitch  bundles  of 
grain  for  the  threshing  machines,  These  conditions  have  not  been  brought 
about  by  the  war,  but  rather,  I  should  say,  by  the  liquor  evil,  for  there 
are  a  great  many  widows  and  women  whose  husbands  drink  and  do  not 
properly  support  their  families.  Some  of  these  women  leave  small  children 
at  home  to  look  after  themselves  while  they  go  out  to  work  by  the  day. 
Others  go  out  just  to  be  earning  a  little  extra  money.  They  have  formed 
sort  of  a  union  so  there  is  no  cutting  down  of  wages,  and  I  believe  they 
are  getting  $2.00  per  day  this  fall,  which  I  am  sure  they  consider  good 
wages  for  a  ten-hour  day." 

A  summary  of  the  Minnesota  hour  laws  for  women  and  the  minimum 
wage  orders  will  not  be  out  of  order  here. 

The  Minnesota  hour  law  for  women  provides  that  women  shall  not 
work  more  than  58  hours  a  week  in  mercantile  establishments  anywhere 
in  the  state;  and  58  hours  in  factories  and  mechanical  establishments 
outside  of  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class.  The  law  limits  the  employ- 
ment of  women  in  mechanical,  manufacturing,  telephone  and  telegraph 
establishments  to  54  hours  in  any  one  week  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second 
class.  The  hours  of  employment  of  women  in  restaurants,  eating  houses 
and  kitchens  in  connection  therewith  are  limited  to  58  hours  in  one  week 
in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class.  Minnesota  has  no  law  limiting  the 
employment  of  women  in  restaurants  outside  of  cities  of  the  first  and  second 
class,  and  no  law  at  all  limiting  the  hours  women  may  work  in  hotels  any- 
where in  the  state. 

On  July  26,  1918,  the  minimum  wage  commission  of  Minnesota  first 
began  to  enforce  the  minimum  wage  order  which  provided  for  a  minimum 
of  $8.75  in  some  occupations  and  $9.00  in  others  in  the  larger  cities,  with  a 
slightly  lower  rate  applicable  to  the  small  towns  in  Minnesota.  In  August  5, 
1919,  a  new  minimum  wage  order  went  into  effect  which  provided  that  in 
towns  of  5,000  or  over  $11.00  should  be  paid  for  a  48-hour  week  or  less 
to  a  worker  who  has  passed  the  apprenticeship  or  learner  stage,  with 
23c  for  each  additional  hour  over  the  48.  The  rate  in  municipalities  of  less 
than  5,000  population  is  $10.25  per  week  for  a  week  of  48  hours  or  less  for 
a  wage  earner  who  has  passed  the  apprenticeship  or  beginner's  stage, 
with  21l^c  per  hour  for  additional  hours. 


EXTENT  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION. 

The  inquiry  upon  which  this  report  is  based  includes  communities  in 
every  county  in  this  state,  and  relates  to  51,361  women  wage  earners  em- 
ployed in  all  the  important  branches  of  industry,  mercantile  work,  personal 
service,  telegraph  and  telephone,  and  other  employment.  It  is  unfortunate 
that  in  many  instances  the  occupation  was  given  in  rather  an  indefinite 
way;  and  the  absence  of  information  regarding  the  trade  processes  has 
made  it  impossible  to  establish  a  close  relationship  between  prevalence 
of  long  hours,  low  wages,  and  types  of  employment  and  trade  processes. 
In  so  far  as  this  was  found  possible,  every  age  and  wage  group  is  represented 
in  this  study. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  no  extensive  wage  statistics  available 
in  the  state  of  Minnesota  upon  which  to  base  comparisons.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  of  the  value  of  the  present  data  as  a  means  of  determining 
the  adequacy  of  such  wages  in  the  light  of  the  present  cost  of  living.  The 
hours  of  labor,  the  extent  of  dependency  of  others  upon  the  wage  earners 
studied,  their  marital  condition,  nativity,  etc.,  will  be  shown  to  have  a  value 
both  as  bearing  upon  law  and  law  enforcement,  and  upon  the  social  condi- 
tions and  personal  responsibilities  of  the  workers.  A  special  study  of 
age,  wages  and  occupation  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis,  is  also  included  in  this 
report,  and  is  intended  to  deal  more  specifically  with  special  industries 
and  the  conditions  that  prevail  in  the  largest  population  center  of  the 
state  of  Minnesota.  This  study  was  made  at  the  instigation  of  the  Minne- 
apolis Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  revealed  some  very  striking  conditions  in  that  city. 


INDUSTRIES  AND  WAGES. 

Table  I.    A  general  classification  of  industries  and  the  distribution  of 
women  wage  earners  in  these  industries,  shows  the  following  distribution: 


Class 

of  Industry 

Number  of 
Wage  Earners 

Per  Cent 
Wage  Earners 

Manufacture                                                        .        

17,810 

13,608 

3,167 

6,248 

10,528 

34.7 

26.5 

Telephone  and  telegraph                                  

6.2 

12.1 

All  other  industries                                                     

20.5 

Total 

51,361 

100.0 

As  tHere  has  been  no  recent  census  of  women  in  industry,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  estimate  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the  proportion  of  the  women 
wage  earners  represented  in  this  inquiry  out  of  the  total  number  of  women 
wage  earners  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  at  the  time  of  the  investigation. 

It  is  evident  that  the  largest  proportion  of  women  wage  earners  con- 
sidered in  this  investigation  was  in  the  manufacturing  industry,  and  that 
the  smallest  number  were  employed  in  the  telephone  and  telegraph  service 
of  the  state. 

While  it  is  not  possible  from  the  data  collected  to  ascertain  the  charac- 
ter of  preparation  or  experience  of  the  workers  in  relation  to  their  wages, 
and  while  we  are  not  able  to  ascertain  the  grading  of  workers  in  particular 
trade  and  trade  processes,  the  fundamental  fact  is  the  average  wage  found 
in  the  various  occupational  classes  considered  in  this  report.  The  follow- 
ing table  shows  the  distribution  of  women  wage  earners  according  to  wages 
and  occupational  classes. 


« 


Table  II.     Showing  occupational  classes  according  to  weekly  wages  of 
women  workers. 


NUMBER   EARNING   SPECIFIED   WAGES   BY   I 

NDUSTRY 

Total 

Number 

of  Women 

INDUSTRY 

Weekly  Wages 
Earned 

Manu- 
facturing 

Mercantile 

Telegraph 

and 
Telephone 

Service 

All  Other 
Industries 

Under  $  3 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

109 
169 
414 
1,309 
2,016 
2,211 
4,640 
6,591 

15 

28 

33 

112 

472 

755 

2,013 

2,790 

31 

45 
102 
258 
567 
556 
1,089 
2,166 

1 

14 

19 

48 

84 

139 

322 

632 

51 
54 
217 
748 
712 
610 
859 
670 

11 

28 
43 
143 
181 
151 
357 
333 

10 

11 

12. 

13 

14 

6,437 
3,271 
4,253 

2,758 
2,525 

2,511 

1,371 

1,775 

973 

962 

1,944 
727 

1,369 
712 
641 

620 
539 
146 
206 
75 

550 
181 
243 
172 
314 

812 
453 
720 
695 
533 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

3,553 
1,574 
1.135 
1,884 
954 

1,085 
597 
433 
579 
199 

1,027 
346 
260 
447 
171 

86 
61 
25 
29 
30 

223 
48 
32 
70 
47 

1,132 
522 
385 
759 
507 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

25 

Over      25 

No  wage  given 

1,193 
626 
429 
496 
148 
783 
698 

1,185 

271 

110 

70 

87 

26 

84 

109 

350 

320 

74 

56 

90 

24 

167 

107 

312 

21 
14 
5 
6 
2 
2 
5 
36 

39 

25 

6 

15 

7 

109 

56 

190 

542 
403 
292 
298 
89 
421 
421 
297 

51,361 

17,810 

13,608 

3,167 

6.248 

10.528 

It  is  evident  that  the  above  figures  relate  to  a  wide  range  of  wage 
groups,  and  that  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of  the  workers,  692  or 
1.35  per  cent,  received  less  than  $5.00  per  week,  while  698,  or  practically 
the  same  proportion  received  more  than  $25  per  week.  When  we  consider 
the  various  occupational  classes,  we  find  that  the  mercantile  establishments 
and  personal  service  show  the  largest  proportion  of  wage  earners  with  a 
wage  of  less  than  $5  per  week,  and  the  smallest  proportion  of  wage  earners 
with  a  wage  of  over  $25  per  week. 

If  we  may  venture  a  classification  of  the  wage  groups  represented  in  the 
present  investigation  as  indicated  by  the  above  table,  we  would  suggest 
the  following  grouping  as  indicative  of  the  relation  between  the  wage  and 
the  standard  of  living  possible  within  these  wage  groups: 


Wage  Group  Economic  Class 

Below  $10.00  per  week Below  subsistence  line 

$10.00-$14.00  per  week Minimum  subsistence 

$15.00-$19.00  per  week Normal  subsistence 

$20.00  and  over Normal  standard 


The  above  grouping,  while  open  to  challenge  because  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  variation  and  the  cost  of  living,  represents,  nevertheless,  standards 
which  can  at  least  roughly  be  recognized  as  falling  between  designations 
chosen  for  this  classification.  The  only  other  method  of  classifying  the 
wage  groups  would  have  been  to  assume  that  $1,  which  is  the  mini- 
mum recognized  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  represents  a  fixed  and  economi- 
cally true  standard.  With  the  constant  fluctuation  in  prices,  such  classi- 
fication is  hardly  feasible.     It  must  also  be  recognized  that  what  was  es- 


sential  to  know  from  the  point  of  view  of  this  subject,  was  not  only  to 
discover  the  number  of  women  wage  earners  receiving  a  wage  below  and 
above  the  minimum  wage  scale,  but  to  discover,  at  least  in  a  general  way, 
the  extent  of  the  fluctuation  in  wages  above  the  minimum,  and  it  is  for 
this  reason  that  this  classification  was  adopted. 

In  accordance  with  this  classification,  we  have  endeavored  to  classify 
the  51,361  workers  studied  with  the  following  results: 

Table  III.    Showing  number  and  per  cent  of  woman  wage  earners  ac- 
cording to  wage  groups  and  occupational  classes. 


PERCENTAGES   /^T   DIFFERENT   WAGES    IN    DIFFERENT    INDUSTRIES 


Total 
Number 

PER   CENT 

Wage 

Manu- 
faturing 

Mercantile 

Telephone 

and 
Telegraph 

Service 

All 

Other 

Industries 

Total 
Per  Cent 

$  3-9 

10-14 

15-19 

20-25 

25  + 

No  wage 
given 

17,459 

19,244 

9,100 

3,675 

698 

1,185 

51,361 

6,218  or 
35.6% 
7,592  or 
39.5% 
2,893  or 
31.8% 

648  or 
17.6% 

109  or 
15.6% 

350  or 
29.5% 

17,810 

4,814  or 
27.5% 
5,393  or 
28.0% 
2,251  or 
24.7% 

731  or 
19.9% 

107  or 
15.4% 

312  or 
26.3% 

13,608 

1,259  or 

7.2% 

1,586  or 

8.2% 

231  or 

2.6% 

50  or 

1.4% 

5  or 

.7% 

36  or 

3.2% 

3,167 

3,921  or 

22.5% 

1,460  or 

7.6% 

420  or 

4.6% 

201  or 

5.5% 

56  or 

8.0% 

190  or 

16.0% 

6,248 

1,247  or 

7.2% 
3,213  or 
16.7% 
3,305  or 
36.3% 
2,045  or 
55.6% 

421  or 
60.3% 

297  or 
25.0% 

10,528 

100. 
100. 
100. 
100. 
100. 
100. 

An  analysis  of  the  above  table  shows  that  out  of  a  total  of  17,459  wage 
earners  receiving  less  than  $10  a  week,  the  largest  proportion  are  found 
in  the  manufacturing  industries,  with  the  mercantile  employes  next  in  im- 
portance. The  remarkable  fact,  however,  shown  by  this  table,  is  that  34.05 
per  cent  of  all  the  women  wage  earners  considered  in  this  investigation  re- 
ceived less  than  a  minimum  subsistence  wage.  With  over  a  third  of  the 
wage  earners  studied  receiving  less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  the  effects  of 
the  war  upon  wages  are  not  nearly  as  obvious  as  it  has  been  claimed. 

When  we  consider  the  minimum  subsistence  group  of  wage  earners,  we 
find  that  they  include  19,244  or  37.49  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
women  wage  earners  considered.  In  other  words,  71.54  per  cent,  or  very 
close  to  three-fifths  of  51,361  wage  earners  considered,  received  sufficient 
wages  for  only  a  bare  existence  or  less.  The  largest  proportion  of  the  wage 
earners  receiving  wages  for  a  minimum  subsistence  is  found  in  manufac- 
turing industries.  The  workers  included  in  the  wage  group  designated  as 
of  normal  standard  includes  4,373  or  8.53  per  cent  of  the  workers  included 
in  this  study.  This  constitutes  only  one-twelfth  of  the  half  hundred  thousand 
wage  earners  considered,  most  of  whom  were  employed  in  industries  outside 
of  manufacturing  or  mercantile  establishments.  The  classification  we  have 
attempted  is  perhaps  out  of  proportion  with  the  ordinary  wages  of  pre- 
war times.    It  must  be  recognized  that  living  costs  have  increased  from  50 

per  cent  to  55  per  cent  during  the  period  preceding  the  war  in  1914  and 
June,  1918.  This  reduces  the  purchasing  value  of  a  $9.00  weekly  wage  to 
$6.00,  and  of  a  $14.00  weekly  wage  to  $9.33,  if  we  admit  the  increase  in  the 
necessities  of  life  to  have  been  only  50  per  cent,  and  not  55  per  cent.   It 


8 


should  be  remembered  also  that  the  lower  the  wage  the  greater  the  propor- 
tion spent  for  food;  and  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  found 
upon  investigation  that  between  the  mid-summer,  of  1914,  and  June,  1918, 
the  cost  of  16  essential  articles  of  food  increased  62  per  cent. 


We  have  discussed  the  wages  of  the  various  classes  of  workers,  and 
their  relation  to  their  present  purchasing  value  as  compared  with  the  values 
prior  to  the  summer  of  1914,  when  the  war  broke  out  in  Europe.  There 
is  still  another  important  element  in  the  relation  between  wages  and  living 
standard  which  must  be  considered,  and  that  is  the  family  obligation  of  the 
individual  workers  or  contribution  to  the  family  support. 


The   following  tables   show  the   distribution   of   women  wage   earners 
according  to  their  economic  relation  to  the  family. 


Table  rv.  Showing  number  and  proportion  of  wage  earners  contribut- 
ing and  not  contributing  towards  the  support  of  their  families,  according 
to  weekly  wages. 


Weekly  Wage 

Contributing 

Not 
Contributing 

Total 

Under  $10 

22,011 

4,417 

1,432 

475 

137 

211 

19,260 

2,009 

722 

246 

46 

395 

41,271 

$10-14 

6,426 

15-19 

2,154 

20-25 

721 

25  and  over 

183 

606 

Total 

28,683 

22,678 

51,361 

Table  IV  shows  that  28,683  or  55.8  per  cent  of  all  the  wage  earners 
studied  make  some  contribution  towards  the  support  of  their  families;  and 
that  22,011  or  76.7  per  cent  of  the  28,683  contributing  towards  the  support 
of  their  families,  were  receiving  a  wage  of  less  than  $10.00  per  week. 
With  41,271  wage  earners  or  80.35  per  cent  receiving  less  than  $10.00  per 
week,  and  with  22,011  or  52.8  per  cent  of  those  receiving  less  than  $10.00 
a  week  contributing  towards  the  support  of  their  families,  it  is  hardly  possi- 
ble to  excuse  low  wages  for  women  workers  on  the  ground  that  they  have 
no  family  responsibility.  It  is  of  course  difficult  to  ascertain  in  an  investi- 
gation of  this  character,  the  extent  of  this  family  responsibility;  but  in  the 
discussion  of  the  figures  relating  to  women  wage  earners  responsible  for 
the  support  of  the  children,  we  may  be  able  to  form  some  conception  of  the 
responsibilities  of  at  least  this  group  of  workers. 


MARITAL  CONDITION  AND  FAMILY  SUPPORT. 

In  the  study  of  the  relation  between  support  and  family  relationships, 
the  only  adequate  data  obtainable  related  to  the  marital  condition  of  the 
women  wage  earners.  The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  the 
51,361  women  wage  earners  studied  according  to  weekly  wages,  family 
support,  and  marital  condition. 


Table  V.    Showing  distribution  of  wage  earners  according  to  weekly 
wages,  marital  condition  and  contribution  towards  family  support: 


MARITAL   CONDITION 


Total 

SINGLE 

MARRIED 

WIDOWED 

Weekly 

Contributing  to 

Contributing  to 

Contributing  to 

Wage 

Women 

Family  Support 

Family  Support 

Family  Support 

Earned 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

Under  $3.... 

109 

14 

77 

8 

4 

2 

2 

3 

169 

28* 

108 

15 

6 

9 

1 

4.... 

414 

80 

248 

34 

11 

17 

9 

5 

1,309 

246 

851 

71 

54 

32 

22 

6.... 

2,016 

722 

993 

78 

75 

47 

42 

7 

2,211 

866 

951 

173 

77 

37 

40 

8.... 

4,640 

1,923 

1,828 

391 

173 

120 

68 

9 

6,591 

2,922 

2,358 

538 

268 

179 

107 

10 

6,437 

2,759 

2,380 

"e'oo 

234 

191 

79 

11.... 

3,271 

1,522 

1,127 

303 

104 

86 

31 

12.... 

4,253 

1,758 

1,465 

486 

180 

156 

60 

13.... 

2,758 

1,293 

981 

209 

92 

72 

39 

14 

2,525 

1,075 

842 

205 

229 

83 

28 

15.... 

3,553 

1,651 

1,222 

296 

130 

106 

48 

16.... 

1,574 

778 

479 

140 

62 

42 

23 

17 

1,135 

564 

382 

97 

29 

24 

7 

18 

1,884 

853 

641 

223 

45 

48 

28 

19.... 

954 

4,89 

343 

52 

20 

17 

10 

20.... 

1,193 

582 

378 

102 

42 

38 

18 

21 

626 

291 

226 

64 

18 

12 

7 

22.... 

429 

229 

124 

31 

21 

8 

4 

23... 

496 

240 

178 

31 

15 

11 

5 

24.... 

148 

62 

53 

13 

5 

4 

3 

25 

783 

362 

279 

51 

22 

33 

10 

Over     25 

698 

320 

243 

49 

21 

29 

14 

No  wage 

given 

1,185 

382 

503 

157 

72 

29 

17 

Total. . .  . 

51,361 

22,011 

19,260 

4,417 

2,009 

1,432 

722 

To  make  analysis  of  these  figures  less  difficult,  we  have  summarized 
the  above  table  in  order  to  indicate  wage  classification,  and  the  relation 
between  wages  and  marital  condition. 


Table    VI.    Showing  wage    groups    and    marital    condition    by    family 
support: 


Weekly 

Total 

SINGLE 

MARRIED 

WIDOWED 

Wage  Group 

Support 

No 
Support 

Support 

No 
Support 

Support 

No 
Support 

Under  $10.00. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-25 

25+ 

Not  given. . .  . 

17,459 

19,244 

9,100 

3,675 

698 

1,185 

6,801 
8,407 
4,335 
1,766 
320 
382 

7,414 
6,795 
3,067 
1,238 
243 
503 

1,308 

1,803 

808 

292 

49 

157 

668 
839 
286 
123 

21 

72 

443 

588 

237 

106 

29 

29 

291 

237 

116 

47 

14 

17 

Total. . .  . 

51,361 

22,011 

19,260 

4,417 

2,009 

1,432 

722 

10 


TABLE   VI— Continued 


Weekly            Total 

DIVORCED 

DESERTED 

SEPARATED 

Wage  Group 

Support 

No 
Support 

Support 

No 
Support 

Support 

No 
Support 

Under  $10  00 

124 

179 

100 

48 

13 

11 

88 
90 
37 
17 

7 

56 

54 

21 

5 

1 

93 
76 
25 
12 

145 

$10-14 

28 

14 

3 

162 

14-19         

65 

20-25 

21 

25  +                        

Nnf,  ffivpn 

1 

5 

2 

Total 

475 

246 

137 

46 

211 

395 

The  above  figures  indicate  the  rather  surprising  fact  that  out  of  a  total 
of  6,426  married  women  working,  4,417  or  68.74  per  cent  were  making  a 
contribution  towards  the  support  of  the  family.  Whether  this  contribution 
isi  to  be  interpreted  merely  as  work  for  pin  money,  or  as  a  means  of  mater- 
ially supporting  the  family,  is  not  possible  to  ascertain  with  any  degree  of 
accuracy.  The  individual  records  of  workers  made  in  the  past  have  shown 
that  pin  money  work  among  married  women  is  not  very  common,  and  that 
usually  it  is  of  short  duration. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  easier  to  preceive  the  prevalence  of  family  support 
according  to  marital  condition  if  we  consider  the  following  percentage 
table. 

Table  VII.  Number  and  percentage  distribution  of  marital  condition 
of  women  wage  earners  by  family  support: 


Support 

No  Support 

Total 

Marital  Condition 

Number 

Percentage 

Number 

Percentage 

Number 

Single        .    .        .      .... 

22,011 

4,417 

1,432 

4,075 

137 

211 

53.3 

68.7 
66.4 
65.8 
74.8 
34.8 

19,260 

2,009 

722 

246 

46 

395 

46.6 
31.2 
33.5 
34.1 
25.1 
65.1 

41,371 
6,426 
2  154 

Married 

Widowed 

721 

Deserted 

183 

606 

Total 

28,683 

55.8 

22,678 

44.2 

51,361 

The  evidence  as  indicated  by  the  above  figures  seem  to  show  that  with 
the  exception  of  the  deserted  women,  where  no  economic  adjustment  is 
made  and  where  family  conditions  are  most  unsettled,  the  married  women 
most  frequently  contribute  towards  the  family  support,  as  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  the  women  employed  contributed  towards  the  support  of  their 
families,  while  in  the  case  of  deserted  women  workers,  74.8  per  cent  con- 
tributed towards  the  support  of  their  families.  Where  only  a  separation 
has  taken  place,  responsibility  for  family  support  is  least  frequent.  To 
what  extent  this  family  support  involves  care  of  children  will  be  considered 
presently. 

MARITAL   CONDITION   AND   SUPPORT  OF  CHILDREN. 

Where  industrial  life  of  the  mother  is  made  necessary  because  of  the 
economic  necessity  involved  by  the  need  for  child  support,  the  problem 
of  the  mother  is  most  serious  and  the  responsibility  of  the  state  most  grave. 

The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  mothers  according  to 
marital  condition  and  number  of  children. 


11 


Table    VIII.    Showing    working    mothers    according    to    their    marital 
Condition  and  the  number  of  their  children: 


Marital 

NUMBER   OF   CHILDREN 

IN   FAMILY 

Total  With 

Condition 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Children 

Married 

Widowed 

Divorced 

Deserted 

1,055 

427 

223 

63 

181 

472 

229 

70 

29 

72 

271 
94 
33 
11 
23 

166 

53 

7 

15 

13 

74 
18 

1 
7 

1 

55 
4 
4 
1 

7 
2 
3 

3 

2,205 
827 
341 
116 

Separated 

290 

Total 

1,939 

972 

432 

254 

101 

64 

14 

3 

3,779 

DIVORCED 

DESERTED 

SEPARATED 

Contributing  to  Family  Support 

Contributing  to  Family  Support 

Contributing  to  Family  Support 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

No 

1 

1 

2 

3 
5 
12 
14 
29 
60 

1 
7 
16. 
11 
20 
33 

3 
6 
7 
4 
13 
23 

1 
1 
5 
3 
7 
11 

2 

6 

7 

16 

28 

34 

5 
8 
12 
19 
40 
58 

49 
37 
48 
22 
23 

31 
12 
31 
10 
6 

21 
9 

11 
6 

7 

7 
1 
2 
1 
3 

26 
10 
25 

7 
8 

60 
29 
31 
26 
16 

41 
21 
10 

19 
4 
6 

4 
4 

12 
4 
3 
2 

1 
1 

7 
6 
5 
6 
1 

20 
14 

8 

16 

18 

12 

1 

5 

13 

5 
1 
4 
3 
2 
2 
7 
7 

4 
1 

4 

7 

6 

5 

1 
3 
1 
3 

2 

7 

3 

3 

2 

14 

7 

13 

1     . 

1 

11 

5 

2 

475 

246 

137 

46 

211 

395 

This  table  shows  3,779  mothers  with  children  at  work  or  7.5  per  cent 
of  the  total  number  of  wage  earners  considered  in  this  study;  and  of  this 
number  slightly  less  than  one-half  had  more  than  one  child.  When  we 
consider  the  same  figures  on  the  basis  of  number  of  children  whose  maternal 
care  is  involved  in  the  mother's  industrial  life,  we  find  that  it  involves 
the  destinies  of  7,206  children  below  working  age,  or  the  child  population  of 
a  city  of  25,000  population.  It  is  of  course  hazardous  to  say  to  what  extent 
this  employment  is  essential  to  the  economic  well-being  of  the  family.  It  is 
hardly  conceivable,  however,  that  any  considerable  proportion  of  the  mothers 
with  more  than  one  child  under  working  age  would  seek  employment  merely 
as  a  diversion,  or  as  a  means  of  securing  pin  money. 

If  we  consider  only  those  cases  where  the  mother  is  not  living  in  normal 
married  life,  we  find  1,574  families  with  1,952  children  of  which  1,500  were 
supported  by  widows.     These  figures  are  particularly  significant  because 


12 


M..i. 


they  show  that  the  "Mothers'  Pensions"  are  hardly  sufficient  to  support 
the  mothers  with  their  children;  or  at  least,  that  the  standard  set  for  the 
families  hy  the  amounts  granted  through  the  "Mothers'  Pensions"  is  hardly 
sufficient  to  protect  the  children  either  against  an  abnormally  low  standard 
of  living,  or  against  the  lack  of  motherly  care  that  comes  through  the 
mothers'  entrance  into  industrial  life. 

It  is  sometimes  alleged  that  the  cities  are  more  frequently  favorable 
to  the  employment  of  married  women,  and  that  in  the  smaller  communities 
the  demands  upon  the  families  are  such  as  to  make  the  employment  of 
the  mother  less  necessary,  and  hence  less  frequent. 

An  examination  of  the  figures  relating  to  the  three  cities  and  the  rest 
of  the  state,  shows  the  following  distribution  of  employment  according 
to  marital  condition  and  the  presence  or  absence  of  minor  children  in  the 
family. 

Table  IX.  Showing  distribution  of  women  wage  earners  according  to 
marital  condition  and  presence  of  children  in  the  family,  in  the  cities  of 
Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Duluth  and  the  rest  of  the  states. 


Minneapolis 

St.  Paul 

Duluth 

Rest  of  State 

Marital  Condition 

With 
Children 

Without 
Children 

With 
Children 

Without 
Children 

With 
Children 

Without 
Children 

With 
Children 

Without 
Children 

Single 

17,351 

2,034 

665 

158 

26 

162 

592' 

198 

75 

28 

80 

9,633 

.  988 

334 

120 

19 

84 

*'"i85' 

88 
49 
14 
29 

3,841 

468 

94 

22 

1 

31 

379' 

191 

65 

20 

46 

10,446 

1,049 

350 

152 

54 

135 

731 

Widowed     

234 

80 

Deserted .  . 

21 

39 

Total 

1,740 

20,396 

973 

11,178 

365 

4,457 

701 

11,551 

Table  X.    If  we  eliminate  the  single  women  wage  earners  from  con- 
sideration, we  find  the  following  distribution  of  women  workers: 


Total  Women 

Less  Married 
Women 

Per  cent  of 
Total 

22,136 
12,151 

4,822 
12,252 

4,785 

2,518 

981 

1,806 

21.6 

St.  Paul 

20  7 

Duluth 

20.3 

Rest  of  State 

14  7 

Total 

51,361 

10,082 

19.6 

The  above  figures  show  the  largest  proportion,  21.6  per  cent  of  women 
who  are  or  who  have  been  married,  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis;  while  only 
14.7  per  cent  of  the  same  class  of  women  were  found  among  the  workers  in 
the  state  outside  the  three  largest  cities.  These  figures,  if  representative  of 
conditions  throughout  the  state,  which  no  doubt  they  are,  would  tend  to 
show  that  the  smaller  communities  do  not  draw  so  heavily  upon  the  class 
of  women  who  have  been  married  as  do  the  larger  population  centers. 

If  we  consider  the  proportion  of  women  with  children  as  compared  with 
those  without  children,  we  find  the  wage  earners  with  children,  among 
those  not  classed  as  single,  distributed  as  follows:  Minneapolis,  36.4  per 
cent;  St.  Paul,  38.7  per  cent;  Duluth,  37.2  per  cent;  and  the  rest  of  the 
state,  38.8  per  cent.  In  other  words,  there  was  a  larger  proportion  of 
women  with  children  working  in  the  communities  outside  the  three  large 
cities  than  in  any  of  the  cities,  while  St.  Paul  showed  the  largest  propor- 
tion of  women  with  children  working  of  any  of  the  other  cities. 


13 


WAGES,   AGES   AND   TRADES. 

In  order  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  relation  between  wages,  ages 
and  occupations,  we  have  selected  19  occupations,  for  which  we  had  more 
than  200  individual  records,  and  a  detailed  tabulation  of  all  the  data  avail- 
able was  made. 

We  shall  endeavor  a  brief  discussion  of  these  occupations  on  the  basis 
of  this  tabulation. 

UNSKILLED  LABOR. 

Table  XI.  Taking  the  women  wage  earners  in  the  unskilled  occupa- 
tions or  trades,  we  find  the  following  conditions : 

AGE   GROUPS 


^wir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

25-35 

36-45 

46 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 

$10-14 

15-19 

20 
4 

26 
11 

13 

10 

2 

48 
51 
11 

51 

33 

19 

3 

44 

13 

6 

202 

122 

38 

20-24 

3 

25  +  .  .  .  .  . 

1 

1 

Total. . .  . 

24 

37 

26 

110 

106 

63 

366 

The  above  table  shows  a  distribution  of  wage  groups  with  202  or  55.2 
per  cent  of  the  366  women  wage  earners  receiving  less  than  the  subsistence 
wage,  and  122  or  33.3  per  cent  with  a  minimum  subsistence  wage.  In  other 
words,  88.5  per  cent  of  the  women  in  the  unskilled  industries  were  receiving 
less  than  a  wage  sufficient  for  normal  subsistence;  and  of  this  number,  240 
or  74.1  per  cent  of  the  wage  earners  considered  were  over  26  years  of  age, 
while  99  or  30.5  per  cent  were  between  26  and  35  years  of  age,  or  the  age 
of  highest  productivity. 

DOMESTIC  SERVICE. 

The  domestic  service  problem  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  perplexing 
to  householders,  and  social  workers  not  infrequently  seek  to  solve  some 
of  the  personal  problems  of  their  charges  by  placing  them  in  domestic 
service.  Within  the  last  two  years  we  have  been  told  astonishing  tales 
about  wages  paid  to  domestics.  The  figures  contained  in  the  following 
tables  are  sufficiently  representative  to  give  some  conception  of  the  wage 
standards  that  prevail. 

Table  XII.  Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  410  domestics  in  the 
city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE   GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

45  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

10 

58 
11 
10 

45 
9 

8 

1 

88 

34 

6 

1 

58 

28 

3 

24 
13 

283 
95 

15-19 ...... 

3 

30 

20-24 

2 

25  + 

Total. . .  . 

13 

79 

63 

129 

89 

37 

410 

With  283  or  69  per  cent  domestics  receiving  less  than  $10.00  per  week 
out  of  a  total  of  410  such  wage  earners,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  claim  that 
this  class  of  workers  is  receiving  abnormally  high  wages;  32  only  or  7.8 
per  cent  were  found  to  receive  $15.00  a  week  or  over,  and  none  received 


14 


$25.00  a  week  or  more.  In  the  case  of  the  domestic  servants,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  unskilled  workers,  the  largest  proportion  were  26  years  of  age  or 
over,  while  122  or  32.3  per  cent  of  the  age  of  highest  productivity  were 
receiving  less  than  $15.00  a  week. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  domestics  in  most  cases  are  receiving 
their  maintenance  in  addition  to  their  wages,  and  that  with  the  present 
cost  of  living  as  high  as  it  is,  their  wages  are  only  to  be  considered  as  a 
comparatively  small  part  of  their  revenue  or  wages. 

KITCHEN  HELPERS. 

By  kitchen  helpers,  for  the  purposes  of  this  study,  is  meant  workers 
in  restaurants,  hotels,  etc.,  who  may  be  getting  all  or  part  of  their  meals 
at  their  place  of  employment,  but  do  not  reside  there.  The  following  table 
shows  the  distribution  of  these  workers  according  to  age  and  wage 
groups. 

Table  XIII.  Showing  the  distribution  of  298  kitchen  helpers  according 
to  their  age  and  wage  groups  in  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15 

61 
6 

36 
15 

'         63 

16 

2 

1 

44 
10 

1 

21 
5 

240 
52 

15-19 

3 

20-24 

1 

25  + 

1 

1 

2 

Total. . .  . 

15 

67 

52 

82 

56 

26 

298 

This  group  of  wage  earners  seems  to  be  one  of  the  lowest  in  the  scale 
from  the  point  of  view  of  wage  standards,  as  240  or  80.5  per  cent  received 
less  than  $10.00  per  week,  while  practically  all  of  these  wage  earners  re- 
ceived less  than  a  normal  subsistence  wage.  It  is  also  to  be  observed  that 
there  is  no  perceptible  difference  in  the  age  distribution  among  the  kitchen 
helpers  as  compared  with  the  domestic  servants. 

WAITRESSES. 

Another  important  occupation  of  the  type  generally  classed  as  personal 
service,  is  waiting  in  restaurants  and  other  food  dispensing  establishments. 
Of  this  type  of  worker,  525  were  found  among  the  women  wage  earners 
studied.     They  were  distributed  as  follows: 

Table  XIV.  Showing  distribution  of  525  waitresses  according  to  age 
and  wage  groups  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

25-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10 

$10-14 

15-19 

37 

8 

155 
29 

109 
25 

1 

111 

'I 

9 
4 

3 
2 

424 

96 

5 

20-24 

25  + 

Total. . .  . 

45 

184 

135 

143 

13 

5 

525 

The  wage  of  waitresses,  as  indicated  by  the  above  table,  shows  424  or 
80.7  per  cent  receiving  less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  and  520  or  99  per  cent 


15 


with  a  wage  sufficient  only  for  a  bare  subsistence.  From  the  point  of  view 
of  age  distribution  however,  these  low  paid  wage  earners  show  a  lower  age 
than  either  the  domestics  or  the  kitchen  helpers,  a  condition  that  is  naturally- 
characteristic  of  the  occupation.  To  what  extent  wages  are  supplemented 
by  the  tipping  system  can,  of  course,  not  be  estimated  with  any  degree  of 
accuracy. 

WASHERWOMEN  AND  LAUNDRESSES. 

One  aspect  of  domestic  service  which  is  more  or  less  irregular  is  that  of 
washerwomen  and  laundresses,  particularly  those  working  in  private  homes. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  figures  do  not  give  the  classification  of  these 
workers  according  to  place  of  employment,  as  there  is  a  very  considerable 
difference  in  the  condition  of  work,  hours  and  regularity.  There  are  how- 
ever, certain  conditions  which  are  worthy  of  consideration,  and  which  are 
evidenced  by  the  following  statistical  table. 

Table  XV.  Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  472  washerwomen 
and  laundresses  in  Minneapolis. 


f 

AGE   GROUPS 

^Tir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 

$10-14 

15-19 

36 
3 

54 

25 

3 

42 

36    t 
3 

59 

'1 

37 

41 

9 

26 

15 

1 

254 

195 

23 

20-24 

25  4- 

Total. . .  . 

39 

82 

81 

141 

87 

42 

.472 

Out  of  a  total  of  472,  the  above  table  shows  254  or  55.9  per  cent  received 
a  wage  insufficient  for  a  normal  subsistence.  Considering  the  character  of 
the  work  and  the  increase  in  the  cost  of  laundry  service  of  the  last  two 
years,  the  above  table  is  scant  evidence  of  unreasonable  labor  cost  in  the 
laundry  industry.  The  above  wage  distribution  is  particularly  striking  when 
we  consider  the  age  distribution  of  the  workers,  which  shows  only  121  or 
25.6  per  cent  of  the  workers  under  22  years  of  age.  In  other  words,  they 
were  most  mature  workers  and  hence  dependent  in  most  instances  upon 
their  own  earnings  for  a  livelihood. 

COOKS. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  laundresses,  we  have  no  classification  of  the 
cooks  according  to  place  of  employment,  but  as  the  figures  were  gathered 
mostly  from  business  establishments,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  they  were 
employed  in  restaurants,  lunch  rooms,  and  other  eating  establishments. 
The  figures  gathered  relate  to  220  such  employes,  the  distribution  of  which 
according  to  wage  and  age  groups  is  shown  in  the  following  table: 

Table  XVI.  Showing  distribution  of  220  cooks  according  to  wage  and 
age  groups  as  found  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE   GROUPS 


^Teir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10 

$10-14 

15-19 

2 
1 

14 
8 
2 

12 

21 

3 

20 

38 

14 

2 

2 

13 

37 

15 

2 

4 
9 
1 

65 

114 

35 

4 

25  +  .. 

2 

Total. . .  . 

3 

24 

36 

76 

67 

14 

220 

16 


With  a  total  of  65  or  29.5  per  cent  of  the  cooks  included  in  this  study 
receiving  a  wage  of  less  than  $10.00  per  week,  and  114  or  51.8  per  cent  re- 
ceiving between  $10.00  and  $14.00  per  week,  the  cooks  in  the  various  estab- 
lishments studied  do  not  appear  to  be  a  highly  paid  group  of  wage  earners. 

It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that,  considering  the  present  cost  of 
food  and  the  fact  that  in  practically  all  instances  the  cooks  received  one 
or  more  meals  a  day  in  their  place  of  employment,  the  wage  standards 
while  low  are  comparatively  higher  than  in  some  of  the  other  occupations 
studied.  As  in  the  case  of  the  washerwomen  and  laundresses,  the  workers 
in  this  occupation  are  older  than  in  other  occupations. 


MACHINE  OPERATORS. 

The  largest  single  group  of  workers  studied  in  Minneapolis  was  ma- 
chine operators  in  various  industries.  The  types  of  work  and  condition  of 
employment  varied  with  the  industry  and  the  establishments  considered. 
The  wage  and  age  distribution  have  a  direct  relation  to  the  standards 
of  living  which  is  more  or  less  independent  of  the  industry  studied.  Some 
very  striking  conditions  were  revealed  by  the  wage  study  of  this  group  of 
workers,  as  indicated  by  the  following  table. 

Table  XVII.  Showing  distribution  of  2,540  machine  operators  in  Minne- 
apolis according  to  age  and  wage  groups. 

AGE   GROUPS 


^Tir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

78 

29 

4 

1 

228 

311 

90 

11 

140 

316 

167 

24 

154 

313 

235 

49 

3 

73 

146 
80 
15 

16 
41 
16 

689 

1,156 

592 

100 

25  + 

3 

Total. . .  . 

112 

640 

647 

754 

314 

73 

2,540 

As  in  the  case  of  most  women  workers  studied,  there  seems  to  be  a 
disproportionate  number  of  wage  earners  receiving  less  than  $10.00  per 
week,  as  there  were  689  women  workers  at  this  wage  out  of  a  total  of  2,540 
or  27.1  per  cent.  When  we  consider  those  receiving  a  subsistence  wage 
of  between  $10.00  and  $14.00  per  week,  we  find  that  they  constitute  1,156 
or  45.5  per  cent  of  the  total  machine  operators  studied.  In  other  words, 
almost  three-fourths  of  the  total  operators  considered  in  this  study  received 
only  a  minimum  subsistence  wage  or  less,  while  only  103  or  3.9  per  cent, 
received  a  living  wage  or  more.  Of  these  workers  only  752  or  29.9  per  cent 
were  less  than  22  year»  of  age.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  among 
the  operators  as  among  many  of  the  other  workers,  those  who  m-ight  be 
presumed  to  be  only  partially  dependent  upon  their  own  earnings  because  of 
their  age,  were  not  nearly  as  numerous  as  might  be  presumed.  The  figures 
of  dependency  discussed  elsewhere  only  strengthen  the  accuracy  of  this 
contention,  and  verify  the  general  conclusion  regarding  the  unwarranted 
belief  that  much  of  the  industrial  wage  of  women  workers  is  merely  used 
to  piece  out  incomes,  but  is  not  depended  upon  for  full  individual  mainten- 
ance. 

SEAMSTRESSES  AND  SEWING. 

The  figures  relating  to  this  occupation .  are  not  perhaps  commensurate 
with  the  large  number  of  such  workers  employed  in  various  fields  of  indus- 
try.   They  are,  however,  significant  as  indicating  wage  and  age  distribution. 


17 


Table  XVIII.  Showing  the  age  and  wage  distribution  of  521  women 
workers  in  Minneapolis  working  as  seamstresses,  and  in  other  occupations 
requiring  sewing. 

AGE   GROUPS 


^'^zr 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  thanSlO. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

31 

12 

1 

30 

56 

5 

20 
70 
13 

16 

88 

32 

3 

1 

17 
50 
13 

1 

14 

43 

5 

128 

319 

69 

4 

25  4- 

1 

Total. . .  . 

44 

91 

103 

140 

81 

62 

521 

Of  the  total  of  521  women  wage  earners  engaged  in  this  class  of  work, 
128  or  24.6  per  cent  received  less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  while  319  or 
61.2  per  cent  received  a  mere  subsistence  wage  of  between  $10.00  and 
$14.00  a  week.  In  all,  more  than  85  per  cent  of  this  class  of  wage  earners 
received  a  mere  subsistence  wage  or  less.  In  the  case  of  this  group  of 
workers,  as  in  all  others  considered,  there  is  no  evidence  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  young  girls  working  for  pin  money. 


PRINTERS  AND  PRESSERS. 

The  printers  and  pressers  represent  a  more  or  less  skilled  occupation 
requiring  training  and  experience.  The  distribution  of  wages  of  this 
group  of  workers  should  therefore  show  a  very  considerable  advantage 
over  such  occupations  as  waitresses,  seamstresses,  etc.  This  is  actually 
the  case  as  is  shown  by  the  following  table. 

Table  XIX.  Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  332  printers  and 
pressers  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


"^Teir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20  24 

27 
5 
2 

33 
61 

7 

17 

88 

4 

1 

5 

55 

3 

1 

3 

13 

2 

85 

1 
1 

223 

19 

2 

25  4- 

1 

2 

3 

Total. .  .  . 

34 

102 

110 

64 

20 

2 

332 

While  it  is  evident  that  only  a  comparatively  sanall  number  of  this  class 
of  wage  earners  (85  or  25.6  per  cent)  receive  less  than  a  living  wage,  the 
vast  majority  of  them  (223  or  67.1  per  cent)  receive  a  subsistence  wage  only. 
Considering  the  extent  of  the  organization  of  this  trade,  and  the  skill  and 
experience  required,  it  seems  that  little  advance  has  been  made  in  the 
wages  when  92.7  per  cent  of  the  workers  receive  a  mere  subsistence  wage 
or  less. 

PACKERS. 

The  women  employed  as  packers  in  stores  and  shops  represent  an  un- 
skilled group,  not  likely  to  become  organized  and  fluctuating  with  the 
seasonal  changes  in  the  various  lines  of  business  in  which  they  are  employed. 
The  distribution  of  the  424  packers  included  in  this  study  is  shown  in  the 
following  table. 


18 


Table  XX.    Showing  distribution  of  424  packers  according  to  age  and 
wage  groups  in  tlie  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE   GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  SIO. 

$10-14 

15-19 

73 
25 

4 

51 

83 

36 

6 

18 

42 

11 

1 

20 

17 

7 

6 
17 

1 

2 
3 

170 

187 

59 

20-24 

7 

25  + 

1 

1 

Total. . .  . 

102 

176 

72 

44 

25 

5 

424 

The  above  figures  show  a  very  unusual  number  of  young  wage  earners, 
as  278  or  65.6  per  cent  were  less  than  22  years  of  age,  while  the  wages 
were  commensurately  low  with  170  or  40.4  per  cent  receiving  less  than  a 
subsistence  wage  and  187  or  44.1  per  cent  receiving  only  a  mere 
subsistence  wage.  It  is  interesting  to  compare  in  this  connection  the  wages 
of  printers  and  pressers  with  the  wages  of  packers  which  represent  a 
comparatively  unskilled  occupation.  In  the  case  of  the  former  we  find  a 
larger  proportion  of  workers  receiving  a  subsistence  wage,  but  in  the  case 
of  the  packers  the  proportion  of  those  receiving  above  the  subsistence 
wage  is  15.5  per  cent  as  compared  with  the  printers  and  pressers  with  only 
7.3  per  cent  receiving  more  than  a  mere  subsistence  wage.  When  to  this 
fact  we  add  the  greater  maturity  of  the  printers  and  pressers,  we  notice 
that  skill  has  not  been  a  very  potent  factor  in  determining  wages,  and  that 
some  means  of  standardizing  is  essential. 


SALESWOMEN. 

One  of  the  most  common  occupations  among  the  wage  earning  women 
is  as  saleswomen  in  mercantile  establishments.  The  1,227  women  in  this 
occupation  studied  in  connection  with  this  inquiry,  show  the  following  age 
and  wage  distribution. 


Table  XXI.    Showing  the  age  and  wage  distribution  of  1,227  saleswomen 
in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE   GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

120 

22 

4 

172 

145 

21 

1 

96 

146 

32 

4 

65 
150 

85 
18 
12 

22 

42 

23 

6 

9 

4 
18 
4 
2 
4 

479 

523 

169 

31 

25+    . 

25 

Total. . .  . 

146 

339 

278 

330 

102 

32 

1,227 

When  we  consider  the  distribution  of  wages  in  the  above  table,  we  find 
that  479  or  39.0  per  cent  of  the  wage  earners  in  this  occupation  receive 
less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  while  523  or  43.4  per  cent  of  this  group 
of  wage  earners  received  a  mere  living  wage.  We  find,  .however,  in  this 
group  of  workers  a  reasonable  proportion  of  workers  receiving  above  a  living 
wage  to  the  extent  of  56  or  4.5  per  cent.  It  is  also  evident  from  the  above 
table  that  age  counts  as  a  factor  in  the  increase  of  wages. 


19 


OFFICE  ASSISTANTS. 

This  group  of  wage  earners  represents  a  semi-professional  class  with 
a  gradual  but  regular  increase  in  wages.  The  fact  that  schooling  and 
official  training  are  still  required  for  this  type  of  work  has  no  doubt  con- 
tributed towards  the  maintenance  of  a  reasonably  higher  standard  of 
wages  as  compared  with  the  prevailing  wages  in  the  industries  and  in  mer- 
cantile establishments.  The  prevailing  wages  affecting  1,913  such  workers 
studied  in  this  inquiry  are  indicated  in  the  following  table. 

Table  XXII.  Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  1,913  office  assis- 
tants in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

25  + 

79 
61 
10 

7 

127 
347 
134 

87 
6 

19 

239 

195 

68 

14 

12 

141 

140 

92 

36 

2 

17 
28 
16 
13 

4 
2 
9 
4 
4 

243 
807 
516 
274 
73 

Total. . .  . 

157 

701 

535 

421 

76 

23 

1,913 

It  is  clear  from  the  above  table  that  the  wages  of  these  workers  are 
considerably  above  the  average  so  far  discovered,  as  only  243  or  12.7  per 
cent  received  less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  while  347  or  18.1  per  cent  re- 
ceived $20.00  a  week  or  more,  which  is  a  normal  living  wage  under  war 
conditions  of  prices.  Even  in  this  group,  however,  there  were  1,050  wage 
ea,rners  or  more  than  half  of  the  total  studied  receiving  a  minimum  sub- 
sistence wage  or  less. 

The  comparatively  high  wage  standard  that  prevails  in  this  type  of 
occupation  is  particularly  striking,  because  it  involves  workers  whose  rela- 
tion to  their  employment  does  not  lend  itself  to  organization,  and  858  or 
44.8  per  cent  were  less  than  22  years  of  age,  while  the  largest  single  group 
was  between  18  and  21  years  of  age. 


STENOGRAPHERS. 

Closely  allied  to  the  office  assistants  are  the  stenographers,  of  which 
3,285  were  studied  in  connection  with  the  present  inquiry.  While  this 
type  of  wage  earners  does  not  require  a  greater  amount  of  general  training, 
they  do  require  preparation  which  necessitates  schooling  especially  designed 
to  fit  the  person  for  the  task  to  be  performed.  The  3,285  stenographers 
studied  were  distributed  according  to  age  and  wage  groups  as  follows: 


Table  XXIII.     Showing  age  and  wage  groups  of  3,285  stenographers  in 
the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


""Tir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 

43 

71 

14 

2 

82 

487 

382 

91 

13 

20 
291 
566 
199 

26 

8 

99 

387 

267 

84 

4 
21 
40 
43 
30 

157 

$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

25  + 

3 
3 
5 

4 

972 

1,392 

607 

157 

Total. . .  . 

ISUO 

1.055 

1,102 

845 

138 

15 

3,285 

The  above  table  shows  several  rather  striking  facts.    The  age  distribu- 
tion shows  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  workers  with  advancing  age 


up  to  35,  while  the  number  of  those  under  18  is  negligible.  The  proportion 
of  those  receiving  less  than  a  subsistence  wage  was  only  157  or  4.7  per  cent, 
which  is  less  than  in  any  group  of  wage  earners  so  far  considered,  while 
the  proportion  of  those  receiving  over  and  above  a  mere  subsistence  wage 
was  2,155  or  65.5  per  cent,  the  largest  proportion  so  far  found  in  any  group 
of  workers  considered.  The  fact  that  only  32  out  of  the  157  stenographers 
receiving  less  than  $10.00  a  week  were  over  22  years  of  age,  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  skill  and  experience  play  a  rather  important  part  in  determin- 
ing the  wage  in  this  class  of  work  which,  like  the  office  assistants,  repre- 
sents a  semi-professional  group. 


BOOKKEEPERS. 

The  next  occupation  which  shows  a  tendency  towards  larger  wage 
standards  as  compared  with  the  other  occupations  considered  in  this  study, 
is  the  group  classed  as  bookkeepers.  They  belong  to  what  might  be  called 
a  semi-professional  class  which  requires  a  considerable  amount  of  training 
and  experience  particularly  related  to  the  employment  and  the  industry  or 
business  in  which  the  worker  is  employed.  The  1,189  bookkeepers  studied 
are  distributed  according  to  age  and  wages  as  follows: 


Table  XXIV.    Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  1,189  bookkeepers 
employed  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE   GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

5 

17 

3 

23 
120 
100 

17 
4 

11 

92 

171 

51 

9 

3 

68 
189 
107 

67 

2 
16 
48 
25 
21 

3 
4 
6 
5 

2 

47 
317 
517 
205 

25+    

103 

Total. . .  . 

25 

264 

334 

434 

112 

20 

1,189 

The  above  table  shows  that  among  the  bookkeepers  there  were  prac- 
tically no  workers  receiving  less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  although  there 
were  317  or  26.6  per  cent  of  the  bookkeepers  receiving  between  $10.00  and 
$14.00  a  week  or  a  mere  subsistence  wage.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
880  or  64  per  cent  of  the  workers  considered  were  of  the  ages  of  highest 
productivity,  as  they  range  between  22  and  45  years  of  age.  In  point  of 
wages,  517  or  43.5  per  cent  of  these  workers  received  a  minimum  living 
wage  as  compared  with  1,392  or  42.3  per  cent  of  the  stenographers  classed 
in  the  same  group.  When,  however,  we  consider  the  bookkeepers  receiving 
$25.00  a  week  or  more,  we  find  that  they  constitute  103  or  8.7  per  cent  of  the 
total  as  compared  with  157  or  4.8  per  cent  of  the  stenographers  classed  in 
the  same  group.  While  in  the  case  of  the  bookkeepers,  th-e  proportion  of 
those  receiving  less  than  a  minimum  subsistence  wage  was  less  than  half 
the  proportion  of  those  receiving  $25.00  a  week  or  more,  in  the  case  of  the 
stenographers  the  proportion  of  these  two  wage  groups  was  equal. 


TELEPHONE   OPERATORS. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  data  relating  to  the  telephone  operators 
was  gathered  about  the  time  when  there  was  considerable  discontent  among 
the  wage  earners  in  this  group,  the  statistical  data  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing table,  although  limited  is  of  considerable  value  as  indicative  of  actual 
wage  standards. 


21 


Table  XXV.     Showing  the  age  and  wage  distribution  of  534  telephone 
operators  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

I-ess  than  $10 

30 

32 

2 

43 

125 

25 

5 

1 

17 

105 

26 

10 

1 

7 
47 
36 

5 

1 

1 

10 

,.       3 

98 

$10-14 

15-19 

2 

321 
92 

20-24 

20 
3 

25  + 

Total...  . 

64 

199 

159 

96 

14 

2 

534 

It  is  evident  from  the  above  figures  that  out  of  a  total  of  534  telephone 
operators  98  or  18.3  per  cent  received  less  than  a  minimum  subsistence 
wage,  while  321  or  60.1  per  cent  received  merely  a  subsistence  wage.  In 
other  words,  four-fifths  of  the  telephone  operators  considered  in  this  inves- 
tigation were  receiving  wages  which  would  cover  the  cost  of  mere  subsis- 
tence  or  less.  Of  those  receiving  at  the  time  of  the  investigation  more  than 
$14.00  a  week,  82  out  of  a  total  of  115  were  22  years  of  age  or  more.  The 
number  of  those  receiving  less  than  a  minimum  subsistence  wage  was 
four  times  greater  than  the  number  of  those  receiving  a  living  wage. 

GENERAL  OFFICE   HELP. 

The  office  helpers  comprise  a  wide  range  of  people  with  varying 
training  and  related  to  business  in  ways  that  could  with  difficulty  be  desig- 
nated in  an  investigation  of  this  kind. 

The  main  value  of  the  figures  is  perhaps  in  the  fact  that  it  shows  a 
large  number  of  workers  not  classed  either  as  office  assistants  or  steno- 
graphers, or  as  bookkeepers.  The  1,793  office  helpers  studied,  divided  into 
age  and  wage  groups,  show  the  following  classification : 


Table  XXVI.    Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  1,793  office  helpers 
in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 

$10-14 

15-19 

99 
36 

148 

404 

58 

17 

5 

53 

267 

132 

45 

10 

32 

162 

126 

56 

43 

9 
23 
21 
12 
12 

1 
9 
13 
2 
8 

342 
901 
350 

20-24 

132 

25  + 

78 

Total...  . 

135 

632 

507 

419 

77 

33 

1,803 

The  above  table  shows  the  largest  proportion  of  office  helpers  between 
18  and  21  years  of  age,  and  with  1,274  or  71  per  cent  of  the  workers  under 
26  years  of  age. 

The  wages  received  by  the  office  helpers  show  a  wide  range  of  distri- 
bution. Those  receiving  less  than  a  minimum  subsistence  wage  num- 
bered 342  or  19.0  per  cent  of  the  total,  while  those  receiving  a  living  wage 
or  more  numbered  200  or  11.1  per  cent.  The  largest  proportion  was  found, 
however,  among  those  receiving  a  minimum  subsistence  wage.  This  group 
consisted  of  901  wage  earners  or  50.2  per  cent  of  the  total.  With  seven- 
tenths  of  the  wage  earners  in  this  group  receiving  a  mere  subsistence  wage 
or  less,  the  standard  of  remuneration  can  hardly  be  considered  high  although 
it  must  be  admitted  that  a  large  proportion  of  those  employed  in  this 
field  were  comparatively  young  women. 


CASHIERS. 

Although  there  is  a  considerable  difference  in  the  duties  of  cashiers, 
depending  upon  the  type  of  business  and  its  size,  the  wage  distribution 
shows  a  tendency  to  remain  more  or  less  stationary,  while  the  age  distribu- 
tion shows  more  mature  workers  than  in  some  of  the  other  occupations. 

The  figures  showing  the  distribution  of  the  370  cashiers  studied  are 
given  in  the  following  table. 

Table  XXVII.  Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  370  cashiers  in 
the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE   GROUPS 


^Teir 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

16 
4 

37 
30 
13 

7 

21 
51 
25 
10 
2 

16 
28 
41 
17 
20 

2 
2 
2 

92 

$10-14 

15-19    

4 
7 
5 
9 

119 

88 

20-24 

39 

25  + 

1 

32 

Total. . .  . 

20 

87 

109 

122 

25 

7 

370 

While  in  the  case  of  office"  helpers  71  per  cent  were  under  26  years 
of  age,  the  cashiers  showed  216  or  58.4  per  cent  of  the  same  age  groups. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  office  helpers  received  less  than  a  minimum  subsis- 
tence wage  in  only  19  per  cent  of  the  cases,  while  the  cashiers  re- 
ceived such  a  low  wage  in  92  or  24.9  per  cent  of  the  cases. 
On  the  other  hand,  those  receiving  a  living  wage  or  more  numbered  71  or 
19.1  per  cent  as  compared  with  11.1  per  cent  in  this  wage  group  among  the 
office  helpers.  On  the  whole,  the  majority  of  these  workers  still  remain 
in  the  wage  groups  which  permit  of  only  minimum  subsistence  or  less. 

FORELADIES. 

The  foreladies  represent  a  supervising  group  of  workers  presumably 
with  experience  in  the  trade  in  which  they  are  employed,  and  on  the  average 
older  than  the  women  workers  in  the  other  trades.  The  following  table 
shows  the  distribution  of  the  foreladies  by  age  and  wage  groups. 

Table  XXVIII.  Showing  the  age  and  wage  distribution  of  557  foreladies 
employed  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

AGE    GROUPS 


Wages  per 
Week 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 

$10-14 

15-19 

25 
4 

26 

82 

23 

3 

1 

9 
65 
43 
17 

6 

8 
45 
60 
31 
27 

5 
13 
23 
12 
13 

4 
3 
2 

77 
212 
151 

20-24 

63 

25  4- 

7 

54 

Total. . .  . 

29 

135 

140 

171 

66 

16 

557 

It  is  surprising  to  find  that  despite  the  experience  required  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  of  forelady  (forewoman)  304  or  54.6  per  cent  were 
under  26  years  of  age.  The  wages  of  this  group  of  workers  vary  only 
slightly  from  the  other  group,  as  77  or  13.8  per  cent  received  less  than  a 
minimum  subsistence  wage,  and  212  or  38  per  cent  received  a  mere  subsis- 
tence wage.  In  other  words,  more  than  half  of  this  group  of  supposed  ex- 
perienced and  skilled  workers  received  a  bare  subsistence  wage  or  less. 
Just  what  the  duties  of  these  workers  are  we  were  unable  to  ascertain  from 
the  data  gathered.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  in  a  considerable  number 
of  instances  the  work  is  of  such  character  as  to  command  a  fair  wage, 
since  117  or  21  per  cent  of  these  wage  earners  received  a  living  wage  or 
more. 

FACTORY  WORKERS. 

One  of  the  most  important  groups  studied  in  the  course  of  this  inquiry 
was  that  of  the  2,537  factory  workers,  as  their  wages  and  age  distribution 


23 


are  quite  typical  of  the  general  industrial  situation  among  the  women.  The 
following  table  shows  the  conditions  found. 

Table  XXIX.     Showing  age  and  wage  distribution  of  2,537  factory  work- 
ers in  the  city  of  Minneapolis. 

*  AGE   GROUPS 


^xr 

Less  than 
18 

18-21 

22-25 

26-35 

36-45 

■  46  + 

Total 

Less  than  $10. 
$10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

424 

128 

9 

317 

425 

76 

5 

2 

130 

221 

92 

7 

1 

135 

208 

68 

8 

2 

60 

93 

29 

3 

42 

47 

5 

1,108 

1,122 

279 

23 

25  + 

5 

Total. . .  . 

561 

825 

451 

421 

185 

94 

2,537 

Table  XXIX  shows  that  1,387  or  58.9  per  cent  of  this  type  of  workers 
were  less  than  22  years  of  age,  while  there  was  a  comparatively  small  num- 
ber of  these  workers  above  35  years  of  age.  The  wage  distribution,  how- 
ever, is  indicative  of  a  very  serious  condition,  with  1,108  or  43.8  per  cent  of 
the  workers  receiving  less  than  a  subsistence  wage,  and  1,122  or  40.4  per 
cent  receiving  a  mere  subsistence  wage.  Only  28  or  1.1  per  cent  received 
a  normal  wage  which  allows  of  a  proper  standard. 

The  discussion  of  the  wage  and  age  distribution  among  workers  in 
specific  occupations  would  seem  to  show  that  wages  have  remained  during 
the  war  so  low  as  to  permit  of  little  improvement  in  the  standard  of  living; 
and  that  the  majority  of  the  workers  are  compelled  to  struggle  with  the 
problems  of  mere  subsistence;  and  that  only  in  comparatively  few  instances, 
and  particularly  in  the  semi-professional  occupations,  have  wages  reached 
a  point  where  a  normal  living  can  be  secured  on  the  wage  received. 


HOURS  OF  LABOR. 

There  is  no  condition  of  labor  that  so  fundamentally  affects  the  health 
and  welfare  of  the  workers  as  the  number  of  hours  of  work  per  week.  In 
order  to  ascertain  what  the  distribution  of  hours  of  labor  is  in  relation  to 
the  54,115  women  employed  in  the  various  establishments  considered  in  the 
course  of  this  investigation,  a  study  was  made  of  the  distribution  of  such 
hours  of  labor  according  to  cities,  and  according  to  the  five  main  classes 
of  occupation.  The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of  hours  of  labor 
throughout  the  state. 

TABLE  No.  XXX 
Showing  Distribution  of  Women  Workers  According  to  Hours  of  Labor  and  Occupation 

Throughout  the  State 


Industry 

Less 

than 

44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

Over 
84 

Totals 

446 
2.37 

5,071 
26.93 

12,424 
65.97 

848 
4.5 

26 
.14 

12 
.06 

5 
.03 

18,832 

Percent .... 

100. 

Mercanlile.. 
Percent .... 

497 
3.48 

3,032 
21.23 

7,123 
49.88 

2,937 
20.57 

426 
2.98 

158 
1.11 

55 

.38 

23 
.16 

30 
.21 

14,281 
100. 

Telephone  & 

Telegraph 

Percent 

149 
4.5 

1,548 
46.74 

533 
16.09 

864 
26.09 

97 
2.92 

42 
1.27 

13 
.39 

38 
1.15 

28 
.85 

3,312 
100. 

Service 

Percent 

744 
9.99 

837 
11.24 

1,116 
14.99 

2,459 
33.02 

1,135 
15.24 

453 
6.08 

195 
2.62 

370 
4.97 

138 
1.85 

7,447 
100. 

All  other 

Industries 
Percent .... 

2,065 
20.16 

5,228 
51.04 

1,762 
17.2 

1,080 
10.54 

53 
.52 

41 
.4 

7 
.07 

6 
.06 

1 
.01 

10,243 
100. 

Totals ..... 
Percent .... 

3,901 
7.21 

15,716 
29.04 

22,958 
42.42 

8,188 
15.13 

1,737 
3.21 

706 
1.3 

275 
.51 

437 
.81 

197 
.37 

54.115 
100. 

The  above  table  shows  that  only  7.21  per  cent  of  the  workers  are  em- 
ployed at  tasks  requiring  less  than  44  hours  of  work  per  week,  and  that 


24 


29.04  per  cent  were  employed  between  44  and  48  hours  per  week.  The  largest 
proportion  of  workers,  however,  were  employed  between  49  and  54  hours  per 
week,  as  22,958  or  42.42  per  cent  were  so  employed.  The  most  remarkable 
situation  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  909  workers  were  employed  for  73 
hours  or  more  per  week,  or  an  average  of  12  hours  a  day  and  over.  This 
would  undoubtedly  seem  an  excessive  number  of  hours  of  employment  for 
any  industry. 

When  we  consider  the  five  classes  of  occupation,  we  find  that  the 
longest  hours  prevail  in  the  telegraph  and  telephone  plants,  and  in  the 
various  lines  of  service,  and  other  types  of  that  character.  The  shortest 
hours  seem  to  prevail  in  the  miscellaneous  industries  where,  out  of  a  total 
of  10,243  workers,  7,293  or  71.2  of  1  per  cent,  were  employed  only  48  hours 
a  week  or  less.  The  largest  proportion  of  women  workers,  working  between 
55  and  60  hours  per  week,  is  found  among  the  telegraph  and  telephone 
workers  and  in  service.  The  fact  that  11,540  workers  were  employed  for 
55  hours  or  more  each  week,  indicates  that  there  is  a  very  considerable 
amount  of  employment  beyond  what  would  seem  a  reasonable  day's  work 
or  over  nine  hours  a  day  for  six  days  a  week. 

The  discrepancy  in  totals  is  due  to  the  fact  that  there  was  a  difference 
in  the  number  of  schedules  for  which  certain  kinds  of  information  was  ob- 
tained or  was  lacking. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  different  conditions  and  the  distribution  of 
hours  of  labor  throughout  the  state,  we  have  divided  the  54,115  women, 
studying  them  from  the  point  of  view  of  hours  of  labor,  into  groups  repre- 
senting the  three  largest  cities,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  and  Duluth,  and  the 
rest  of  the  state,  and  have  studied  the  distribution  of  hours  according  to 
occupational  groups.  The  following  tables  present  the  detailed  data  re- 
garding this  distribution  of  hours. 

TABLE   XXXI 
Showing  the  Distribution  of  Hours  According  to  the  Cities  and  the  rest  of  the  State 


Less 

Over 

than 
44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

84 

Totals 

Minneapoli 

s — 

Totals 

1,684 

6,930 

9,838 

1,852 

982 

33 

14 

9 

9 

21,351 

Per  Cent . . . 

7.88 

32.46 

46.07 

8.67 

4.60 

.18 

.06 

.04 

.04 

100 

St.  Paul- 

Totals 

833 

4,714 

6,720 

1,175 

28 

5 

7 

3 

13.485 

Per  Cent. . . 

6.18 

34.96 
(34.967) 

49.83 

8.71 

.21 
(.207) 

.03 
(.037) 

.06 
(.059) 

.02 

100 

Duluth— 

Totals 

421 

1,799 

2,484 

1,274 

97 

26 

22 

4 

9 

6,136 

Per  Cent .  .  . 

6.86 

29.32 

40.48 

20.76 

1.58 

.42 

.36 

.07 
(.066) 

.15 
(.1466) 

100 

State  outsi 

de  Citi 

es — 

Totals 

963 

2,273 

3,916 

3,887 

630 

642 

232 

424 

176 

13,143 

Per  Cent. . . 

7.33 

17.29 

29.79 

29.58 

4.79 

4.88 

1.76 

3.24 

1.34 

These  figures  indicate  that  there  is  a  smaller  proportion  of  women  em- 
ployed working  48  hours  a  day  or  less  outside  of  the  larger  cities  than  in 
any  of  the  three  important  cities  of  the  state.  It  is  also  clear  that  there 
is  a  larger  proportion  of  women  employed  between  49  and  54  hours  a  day 
in  the  city  of  St.  Paul  than  in  any  of  the  rest  of  the  state.  It  is  also  evi- 
dent that  there  is  a  larger  proportion  of  women  working  less  than  55  hours 
a  week  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis  than  in  the  rest  of  the  state.  Practically 
one-half  of  the  women  employed  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul  49.83  per  cent 
were  employed  between  49  and  54  hours  a  week.  The  greatest  frequency 
of  long  hours  was  found  outside  of  the  cities  of  the  state  with  Minneapolis 
next  in  order  of  importance. 


25 


In  order  to  determine  the  differences  in  conditions  that  prevail  in 
various  industries,  we  have  divided  the  workers  according  to  occupational 
groups  and  we  have  found  the  following  conditions: 

TABLE  XXXII 

Showing  the  Distribution  of  Women  Workers  in  Manufactures  According  to  the    Cities 

and  the  State 


Industry 

Less 

than 

44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

Over 

84 

Total 

Minnea0oli 

Mftrs 

246 
2.60 

80 
1.56 

46 
3.26 

de  of  Ci 

74 
2.63 

2,334 
24.65 

1,966 
38.25 

174 
12.31 

ties— 

597 
21.25 

6,798 
71.79 

3,038 
59.10 

1,134 
80.25 

1,454 
51.74 

80 
.85 

55 
1.07 

50 
4.18 

654 
23.27 

8 
.08 

1 
.02 

3 
.03 

9,469 

Per  Cent . .  . 

100 

St.  Paul— 

Mftrs 

5,140 
100 

Per  Cent.  .  . 

Duluth— 

Mftrs 

1,413 

Per  Cent . . 

100 

State  outsi 

Mftrs 

17 
.61 

12 

.43 

2 
.07 

2,810 

Per  Cent . . . 

100 

The  above  table  shows  that  in  the  industries  throughout  the  state  there 
is  a  greater  frequency  of  long  hours  than  in  any  of  the  cities.  It  is  also  evi- 
dent that  the  manufacturing  plants  of  Duluth  have  the  largest  proportion  of 
women  employed  over  48  hours  a  week  outside  of  the  plants  studied  in  the 
smaller  communities  and  throughout  the  state.  In  St.  Paul  conditions 
seem  to  be  more  favorable  as  39.81  of  1  per  cent  were  employed  48  hours 
a  week  or  less. 

Mercantile  Establishments: — ^When  we  consider  Mercantile  Establish- 
ments, we  find  the  following  distribution  of  workers  according  to  hours  of 
employment. 

TABLE  XXXIII 

Showing  the  Distribution  of  Women  Workers  in  the  Cities  and  the  State  According  to 
Location  by  Number  of  Hours  of  Work  per  Week 


Industry 

Less 

than 

44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

Over 

84 

Total 

Minneapoli 

Mercantile.. 
Per  Cent. . . 

St.  Paul— 

Mercantile 

s — 

231 
4.92 

102 
2.62 

37 
1.77 

de  Citi 

127 
3.53 

1,652 
35.20 

595 
15.27 

421 
20.07 

es — 

364 
10.13 

2,223 
47.37 

2,871 
73.69 

962 
45.85 

1,067 
29.69 

525 
11.18 

314 
8.06 

675 
32.17 

1,423 
39.59 

44 
.93 

14 
.36 

3 
.14 

365 
10.16 

9 
.19 

2 
.04 

7 
.17 

4,693 
100 

3,896 

Per  Cent. . 

100 

Duluth— 

2,098 

Per  Cent 

100 

State  outsi 

Mercantile. . 
Per  Cent., . 

149 
4.14 

53 

1.48 

23 
0.64 

.23 
0.64 

3,594 
100 

The  distribution  of  workers  in  Mercantile  Establishments  shows  that 
the  communities  outside  of  the  three  largest  cities  maintain  a  schedule  of 
hours  of  work  far  in  excess  of  those  within  the  cities,  as  56.65  per  cent 
of  the  workers  were  employed  55  hours  a  week  or  more  as  compared  to 
12.51  per  cent  in  Minneapolis;  8.42  per  cent  in  St.  Paul  and  32.31  per  cent 
in  Duluth. 


^6 


These  figures  would  seem  to  indicate  that  there  is  a  tendency  towards 
longer  hours  outside  of  the  larger  cities  and  that  the  smallest  of  the  large 
cities  in  the  state  maintained  the  longest  hours  in  these  Mercantile  Estab- 
lishments. 

Telegraph  and  Telephone  Companies: — ^When  you  consider  the  tele- 
graph and  telephone  companies  we  find  the  following  distribution  of  hours: 

TABLE  No.  XXXIV 
Showing  the  Number  of  Women  Employed  in  the  Cities  and  the   State  outside  of   the 
large  Cities  in  the  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Companies  According  to  the 
Number  of  Hours  Employed 


Industry 

Less 

than 

44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

Over 
84 

Total 

Minneapoli 

Tel.  &  Tel. . 

s — 

32 

4.86 

578 
87.84 

685 
97.3 

112 
94.92 

es — 

173 
9.44 

48 
7.30 

13 
1.85 

6 
5.08 

466 
25.44 

658 

Per  Cent .  .  . 

100 

St.  Paul- 
Tel.  &  Tel. . 

6 
.85 

704 

Per  Cent .  ,  . 

100 

Duluth— 

Tel.  &  Tel. . 

118 

Per  Cent . . . 

100 

State  outsi 

Tel.  «&  Tel. . 
Percent... 

de  Citi 

117 
6.39 

858 
46.83 

97 
5.30 

42 
2.29 

13 
.71 

38 
2.07 

28 
1.53 

1,832 
100 

This  table  shows  that  on  a  whole  there  is  a  considerable  uniformity  in 
the  number  of  hours  of  employment  in  the  telegraph  and  telephone  com- 
panies and  that  the  hours  are  comparatively  short.  It  is  astonishing,  how- 
ever, to  find  that  outside  of  the  large  cities  58.73  per  cent  of  the  women  em- 
ployed in  telegraph  and  telephone  establishments  worked  55  hours  a  week 
or  more  as  compared  to  .85  of  1  per  cent  working  more  than  54  hours  a  week 
in  the  cities. 

Service: — The  number  of  women  employed  in  service  either  personal  or 
domestic  shows  the  following  distribution. 

TABLE  No.  XXXV 

Showing  the  Number  of  Women  Employed  in  the  Cities  and  the  State  Outside  of  the 
Large  Cities  in  Service  According  to  the  Number  of  Hours  Employed 


Industry 

Less 

than 

44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

Over 
84 

Total 

Minneapoli 

Service 

Per  Cent .  .  . 

St.  Paul- 
Service 

Per  Cent... 

Duluth— 

Service 

P6r  Cent .  .  . 

State  outsi 

Service 

Per  Cent. .  . 

s — 

382 
10.85 

56 
6.56 

39 
4.59 

deof  C 

267 
12.01 

313 

8.89 

327 
38.29 

87 
10.25 

ities— 

110 
4.94 

621 
17.64 

131 
15.34 

124 
14.61 

240 
10.79 

1,233 
35.02 

313 
36.65 

444 
52.30 

469 
21.10 

928 
26.36 

12 
1.41 

94 
11.07 

101 

4.58 

24 

.68 

5 

.58 

26 
3.06 

398 
17.9 

9 
.25 

7 
.82 

22 
2.59 

157 
7.06 

9 
.25 

4 
.47 

357 
16.05 

2 
.06 

3 
.35 

9 
1.06 

124 
5.57 

3,521 
100 

854 
100 

849 
100 

2,223 
100 

It  is  clear  from  the  above  table  that  the  women  employed  in  various 
classes  of  service  gave  longer  hours  to  their  work  than  in  any  other  occu- 
pational group.  This  is  particularly  true  in  the  communities  outside  of  the 
large    cities    where    51.16    per    cent    of    the    women    employed    outside    of 


27 


the  city  worked  61  hours  or  more  per  week,  a  condition  that  was  not  com- 
parable to  that  of  any  of  the  larger  cities.  It  was  found,  however,  that  in 
the  city  of  Minneapolis  27.6  per  cent  of  the  women  employed  in  service 
worked  61  hours  a  week  or  more.  There  was  no  evidence  in  any  of  the 
cities  of  such  unusually  long  hours  as  were  found  in  the  communities  outside 
of  the  large  cities. 

All   Other   Industries: — The  following  table  shows  the  distribution  of 
women  according  to  the  number  of  hours  in  all  other  industries: 


TABLE  No.  XXXVI 

Showing  the  Number  of  Women  Employed  in  the  Cities  and  the  State  Outside  of  the 

Large  Cities  in  all  other  Industries 


Industry 

Less 

than 

44 

44-48 

49-54 

55-60 

61-67 

68-72 

73-78 

79-84 

Over 
84 

Total 

Minneapoli 

All  other  In- 

s — 

793 
26.35 

595 
20.58 

299 
18.03 

deof  C 

378 
14.08 

2,053 
68.21 

1,141 
39.47 

1,005 
60.62 

ities — 

1,029 
38.34 

148 
4.92 

667 
23.07 

258 
15.56 

689 
25.67 

14 
.46 

487 
16.85 

96 
5.79 

483 
18.00 

2 
.06 

1 
.03 

3,010 

Per  Cent. .  . 

100 

St.  Paul- 
All  other  In- 
dustries. . 

2,891 

Per  Cent.  .  . 

100 

Duluth— 

All  other  In- 
dustries. . 

1,658 

Per  Cent . . . 

... 

100 

State  outsi 

All  other  In- 
dustries .  . 
Per  Cent . . . 

50 
1.86 

41 
1.53 

7 
.26 

6 
.22 

1 
.04 

2,684 
100 

An  examination  of  the  above  table  shows  that  in  the  various  industries 
that  have  not  been  classified  in  any  of  the  above  groups  there  is  a  preva- 
lence of  comparatively  short  hours  and  that  this  is  true  of  the  communities 
outside  of  the  large  cities  as  it  is  in  the  cities  themselves. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  stated  that  there  is  a  greater  tendency  towards 
long  hours  in  the  communities  outside  of  the  larger  cities  and  this  applies 
to  all  groups  of  occupations.  It  should  also  be  stated  that  in  the  city  of 
Minneapolis  is  shown  a  larger  prevalence  of  women  employed  over  60  hours 
a  week  than  in  any  of  the  other  large  cities  of  the  state  and  that  in  domestic 
service  and  in  the  telegraph  and  telephone  establishments  the  number  of 
hours  of  work  seem  more  reasonable  than  in  any  of  the  other  occupational 
groups. 


NATIVITY  AND  CONJUGAL  CONDITION  OF  WAGE  EARNERS. 

One  of  the  most  common  problems  in  the  maintenance  of  a  normal  wage 
standard  is  the  competition  between  various  groups  of  workers  and  the 
margin  of  subsistence  in  the  family  which  determines  whether  a  married 
woman  should  enter  or  continue  in  industrial  life.  In  order  to  ascertain  to 
what  extent  the  employment  of  married  women  affects  the  native  and  for- 
eign groups,  we  have  separated  all  women  who  have  been  married,  accord- 
ing to  nativity,  child  dependency  and  the  various  conditions  of  marital  life. 

The  following  table  gives  a  general  classification  of  the  marital  condi- 
tion by  nativity: 


28 


TABLE  No,  XXXVII 
Showing  Distribution  of  Native  and  Foreign  Born  Married  Women  According  to  Con- 
jugal Condition  at  Time  of  Employment 


Nativity 

No. 
Mar- 
ried 

Per- 
cent 

No. 
Wid- 
dowed 

Per- 
cent 

No. 
Di- 
vorced 

Per- 
cent 

No. 
Sep- 
arated 

Per- 
cent 

No. 
De- 
serted 

Per- 
cent 

Total 

Native 

Foreign  Born. .  . 

4,463 
1,724 

62.4 
65.3 

542 
601 

7.5 
22.7 

1,551 
139 

21.7 
5.3 

472 
118 

6.6 

4.5 

123 

58 

1.8 
2.2 

7,151 
2,640 

Total 

6,187 

63.2 

1,143 

11.7 

1,690 

17.2 

590 

6.0 

181 

1.9 

9,791 

The  above  table  would  seem  to  indicate  that  widowhood  is  three  times 
more  frequently  the  cause  of  employment  among  the  foreign  bom  than  among 
native  women  employed,  and  while  the  frequency  of  divorced  women  among 
the  native  employed  is  about  four  times  greater  than  among  the  foreign 
women,  the  proportion  of  deserted  women  found  in  the  course  of  the  inquiry 
was  greater  among  the  foreign  than  among  the  native  women-  There 
also  seems  to  be  a  slightly  greater  proportion  of  married  women  in  normal 
married  life  employed  among  the  foreign  workers  as  compared  with  the 
natives  in  the  same  group.  It  is  surprising,  however,  to  note  how  great  a 
proportion  of  married  women  are  at  work  as  compared  with  those  in  ab- 
normal marital  state 

A  better  conception,  however,  of  the  preplexities  borne  by  the  women 
in  normal  or  abnormal  marital  condition  can  be  derived  from  a  study  of  the 
distribution  of  native  and  foreign  women  according  to  wage  groups,  and 
number  of  children. 

The  following  two  tables  show  the  distribution  of  married  women  ac- 
cording to  nativity,  marital  condition,  number  of  children  and  weekly  wage 
groups  of  the  working  women  considered  in  this  study: 

TABLE  No.  XXXVIII 
Showing  Number  of  Native   Married  Women   According  to  Number  of  Children  and 

Weekly  Wage  Groups 


Weekly  Wages 

NATIVE  MARRIED  WOMEN 
NUMBER   OF   CHILDREN 

Per- 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Total 

cent 

$1-  9 

915 

1,242 

622 

250 

89 

241 

298 

131 

20 

6 

118 

155 

66 

19 

11 

55 
51 

24 
8 
2 

41 

42 

7 

2 

11 
14 

5 

i 

5 
2 
3 

1 

1,386 

1,808 

860 

300 

109 

31  06 

10-14 

4 

1 

i 

40.52 

15-19 

20-24 

•19.27 
6.73 

25+ 

2  42 

Totals 

3,118 

696 

369 

140 

92 

31 

11 

5 

1 

4,463 

100  00 

Per  Cent 

69.9 

15.6 

- 

3.1 

2.1 

.7 

.24 

.11 

.02 

100.0 

TABLE  No.  XXXIX 
Showing  Number  of  Foreign  Married  Women  According  to  Number  of  Children  and 

Weekly  Wage  Groups 


FOREIGN  MARRIED  WOMEN 
NUMBER    OF    CHILDREN 

Weekly  Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

2 

3 

Totals 

Per- 
cent 

$1-9 

327 

492 

126 

18 

12 

115 

123 

44 

2 

3 

69 

76 

32 

5 

1 

56 

48 

11 

1 

38 
22 
10 

21 
14 

15 

18 

7 

1 

2 

3 

i 

646 

797 

238 

27 

16 

37  47 

10-14 

46.23 

15-19 

13  81 

20-24 

1  56 

25  + 

.93 

Totals     

975 

287 

183 

116 

70 

41 

41 

4 

1,724 

100  0 

Per  Cent 

56.6 

16.6 

10.6 

6.7 

4.1 

2.4 

2.4 

.2 

100.0 

It  is  clear  from  the  above  table  that  the  native  women  receive  higher 
wages  on  the  average  than  the  foreign  women  as  only  71.58  per  cent  of  the 
native  women  received  wages  classed  as  within  the  subsistence  line,  or  less, 
as  compared  with  the  foreign  women,  of  whom  there  were  83.7  per  cent 
receiving  such  low  wages. 

It  is  also  clear  that  while  there  were  only  2.49  per  cent  of  the  foreign 
women  receiving  a  wage  above  the  minimum  standard,  there  were  9.15  per 
cent  native  women  in  this  better  wage  grouping. 

When  we  consider  children  to  be  taken  care  of  by  these  two  wage  earn- 
ing groups,  we  find  that  foreign  women  work  more  frequently  when  they 
have  children  than  when  they  are  childless.  The  proportion  of  native  wo- 
men without  children  found  at  work  was  69.9  per  cent,  while  in  the  case  of 
the  foreign  women  only  46  per  cent  were  childless.  The  fact  that  wages 
among  native  married  women  are  comparatively  higher,  and  childlessness 
more  frequent,  would  lead  to  the  belief  that  economic  necessity  is  more 
likely  to  be  a  factor  in  determining  foreign  married  women  to  become  wage 
earners  than  in  the  case  of  the  native  married  women.  As  we  have  no 
data  relating  to  the  occupation  and  wages  of  the  husbands,  the  above 
opinion  is  to  be  taken  merely  as  a  conjecture,  which,  however,  has  con- 
siderable basis  of  fact. 

Considering  the  widowed  women  according  to  nativity,  wage  groups,  and 
number  of  children,  we  find  the  following  distribution: 


TABLE  NO.  XL 

Showing  Distribution  of  Native  Widowed  Women  According  to  Wage  Groups 

and  Number  of  Children 


NATIVE 

WIDOWED 

WOMEN 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 
Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Totals 

per  cent 

«  1-  9 

10-14 

70 
99 
61 
27 

28 

59 
67 
32 
11 
5 

21 

18 

8 

3 

1 

10 
6 
6 

1 
2 
2 

1 

2 

1 
1 



165 

193 

109 

41 

34 

30.44 
35.61 

15-19 

20.11 

20-24 

7.57 

25  + 

6  27 

Totals.  .  . 

285 

174 

51 

22 

5 

1 

2 

2 

542 

100.00 

Per  cent .  .  . 

52.5 

32.1 

9.4 

.4 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

TABLE  NO.  XLI 

Showing   Distribution   of   Foreign   Widowed   Women   According   to   Wage 

Groups  and  Number  of  Children 


FOREIG^ 

[  WIDOWED 

WOMEN 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 

Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Totals 

per  cent 

$1-9 

10-14 

155 

137 

50 

23 

9 

38 

48 

15 

3 

3 

21 

28 

9 

1 

1 

11 

11 

9 

6 
8 
4 

2 
2 

2 

1 

1 
1 

234 

235 

91 

27 

14 

38.94 

39.10 

15-19 

20-24 

1 

15.14 
4.49 

25+..:.. 

1 

2.33 

Totals.  .  . 

374 

107 

60 

31 

19 

6 

3 

1 

601 

100.00 

Per  cent .  .  . 

62.2 

17.8 

10 

5.1 

3.2 

1.1 

.5 

.2 

The  above  tables  indicate  a  wage  distribution  showing  38.94  per  cent  of 
the  foreign  widowed  women  with  a  wage  below  the  minimum  subsistence 
line  and  involving  the  welfare  of  153  children,  as  compared  with  30.44  per 
cent  of  native  widowed  women  involving  the  destinies  of  159  children  in  the 
same  wage  group. 


In  all  there  were  312  children  under  the  care  of  widowed  women  re- 
ceiving a  wage  insufficient  for  a  minimum  subsistence  of  one  person,  and 
these  children  were  almost  equally  distributed  between  native  and  foreign 
widowed  mothers.  Contrary  to  the  conditions  found  in  the  case  of  the 
married  women,  the  proportion  of  the  widowed  women  without  children 
at  work  was  greater  among  the  foreign  widowed  than  among  the  native 
widowed.  This  fact  may  also  be  used  as  evidence  of  the  greater  economic 
pressure  upon  foreign  women  in  determining  their  entrance  into  gainful 
occupations  than  in  the  case  of  the  native  women.  The  proportion  of  native 
widowed  women  without  children  at  work  was  52.5  per  cent,  as  compared 
with  62.2  per  cent  of  foreign  women  in  the  same  marital  condition.  Note 
should  also  be  taken  of  the  fact  that  while  in  the  case  of  the  native  widowed 
women  only  66.05  per  cent  received  a  mere  subsistence  wage  or  less,  in  the 
case  of  the  foreign  born  widows  78.04  per  cent  received  a  mere  subsistence 
wage  or  less. 

As  has  been  pointed  out  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  study,  there  were  more 
than  11  times  as  many  divorced  native  women  at  work  than  there  were 
foreign  women  of  the  same  marital  state.  Whether  this  represents  a  normal 
proportion  in  the  total  population  of  native  and  foreign  women  would  be 
difficult  to  tell,  as  the  census  figures  are  entirely  too  out  of  date  to  be  of 
any  value  in  computing  data  on  this  point.  The  following  two  tables  will 
give  us  the  distribution  of  divorced  women  according  to  nativity,  number  of 
children  and  wage  groups. 

TABLE  XLII 

Showing   Distribution    of   Foreign    Divorced    Women   According   to   Wage 

Qroup  and  Number  of  Children 

FOREIGN  DIVORCED  WOMEN 


NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 
Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Totals 

per  cent 

«  1-  9 

10-14 

26 

22 

12 

3 

1 

11 

19 

9 

3 

5 
9 
3 

2 
5 
1 

1 

5 

50 

55 

25 

7 

2 

35.97 
39  57 

15-19 

17  99 

20-24 

1 

5  03 

25  + 

1 

1  44 

Totals 

64 

42 

18 

8 

2 

5 

139 

100.00 

Per  cent 

46. 

30.2 

12.9 

5.8 

1.5 

3.6- 

100.0 

TABLE  XLIII 

Showing  Distribution  of  Native  Divorced  Women  Recording  to  Wage 

Groups  and  Number  of  Children 

NATIVE  DIVORCED  WOMEN 


NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 
Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

Totals 

per  cent 

$1-9 

10-14 

298 

394 

169 

52 

48 

98 
124 
60 
20 
13 

56 
68 
23 
10 
8 

34 
15 

7 

7 

13 

18 
2 

5 
5 

1 
1 

1 

505 

624 

263 

90 

69 

32.56 
40  23 

15-19 

20-24 

1 

16.96 
5  80 

25  + 

4.45 

Totals .  .  . 

961 

315 

165 

63 

33 

12 

1 

1 

1,551 

100.00 

Per  cent 

62 

20.3 

10.6 

4.1 

2.1 

.8 

.05 

.05 

100.0 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  fact  indicated  by  the  above  tables  is  that 
in  the  case  of  the  native  divorced  women,  1,038  children  were  involved, 
while  in  the  case  of  the  foreign  divorced  women,  only  135  children  were 


31 


involved.  The  distribution  of  women  receiving  wages  below  the  line  of 
minimum  subsistence  is  32.56  per  cent  in  the  case  of  the  native  women,  and 
35.97  per  cent  in  the  case  of  foreign  women.  The  number  of  children 
involved,  however,  is  395  in  the  case  of  the  native  as  compared  with  only 
56  in  the  case  of  foreign  women.  With  the  exception  of  the  wage  group  of 
$25.00  per  week  and  over,  which  is  about  three  times  greater  in  the  cases 
of  native  divorced  women  as  compared  with  the  foreign  women  in  the  same 
group,  the  distribution  found  in  the  other  wage  groups  shows  very  little 
variation. 

Perhaps  the  most  pathetic  type  of  woman  wage  earner  is  to  be  found 
among  the  deserted.  It  is  fortunate  that  they  constitute  a  comparatively 
small  class  totalling  181,  of  which  the  native  deserted  women  are  twice 
as  numerous  as  the  foreign  women  of  the  same  marital  condition.  The  fol- 
lowing tables  show  their  distribution  according  to  nativity,  wage  groups 
and  number  of  children: 

TABLE  XLIV 
Showing  Distribution  of  Native  Deserted  Women  According  to  Wage 
Groups  and  Number  of  Children  / 


NATIVE 

DESERTED 

WOMEN 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 
Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Totals 

per  cent 

$1-9 

23 

15 

5 

1 
1 

17 

11 

4 

3 

7 

10 

3 

3 
2 
2 

5 
3 
4 

2 
1 

67 

42 

18 

4 

2 

46.34 

10-14 

34.15 

15-19 

14.63 

20-24 

3.25 

25  + 

1 

1.63 

Totals 

45 

35 

20 

8 

12 

3 

123 

100 . 00 

Per  cent . .  . 

36.6 

28.5 

16.2 

6.5 

9.7 

2.5 



TABLE  NO.  XLV 

Showing  Number  of  Foreign  Deserted  Women  According  to  Wage  Groups 

and  Number  of  Children 


FOREIGN 

DESERTED 

WOMEN 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 
Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Totals 

per  cent 

$  1-  9  ... . 
10-14 

8 

12 

2 

9 
7 
2 

5 
2 
2 

1 

"i" 

1 

1 

2 

"i" 

1 

26 
23 

8 

1 

44.83 

1 

39.66 

15-19 

13.79 

20-24 

1.72 

25  4- 

Totals 

22 

18 

9 

2 

2 

4 

1 

58 

100.00 

Per  cent. . . 

37.9 

31. 

15.5 

3.5 

3.5 

7. 

3.6 

100 

While  the  above  figures  show  throughout  a  greater  frequency  of  lower 
wages  among  the  foreign  deserted  women,  the  difference  between  the 
group  receiving  a  wage  sufficient  for  a  mere  subsistence  or  less  is  com- 
paratively small  (80.4  per  cent  for  native  women  and  84.49  per  cent  for 
foreign  women).  It  is  in  the  wages  above  the  normal  subsistence 
line  ($20.00  per  week  and  over)  that  the  difference  is  greatest,  but 
the  number  of  this  class  of  workers  is  so  small  that  the  figures  have  no 
special  value  except  that  they  follow  the  trend  indicated  in  the  other  groups. 

The  number  of  children  involved  is  162  of  native  mothers  and  76  of  for- 
eign mothers,  while  there  were  70  children  of  native  mothers  receiving  less 
than  a  minimum  subsistence  wage  as  compared  with  36  children  of  foreign 
mothers  in  the  same  wage  group. 


82 


Of  the  590  women  separated  from  their  husbands  that  came  within  the 
purview  of  the  present  study,  472  were  native  and  118  were  foreign  bom. 
The  conditions  of  wage  distribution  and  number  of  children  in  the  two 
groups  are  indicated  in  the  following  tables: 


TABLE  NO.  XLVI 

Showing  Number  of  Native  Women  Separated  from  their  Husbands,  According 
to  Wage  Qroups  and  Number  of  Children 


NATIVE 

SEPARATED 

WOMEN 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 

Weekly 
Wages 

0 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Totals 

per  cent 

$  1-9 

95 

95 

48 

8 

6 

48 

56 

23 

9 

22 
23 

7 
1 
2 

5 

10 

2 

8 
3 

1 

179 

187 

80 

18 

8 

37.93 

10-14. . . . 

39.62 

14-19 .... 

16.95 

20-24 

3.81 

25  + 

1.69 

Totals. .  . 

252 

136 

55 

17 

11 

.1 

472 

100.00 

Per  cent.  .  . 

53.4 

28.8 

11.7 

3.6 

2.3 

.2 

100. 

TABLE  NO.  XLVII 

Showing  Number  of  Foreign  Women  Separated  From  Their  Husbands,  According  to 
Wage  Qroups  and  Number  of  Children 

FOREIGN  SEPARATED  WOMEN 


NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN.                                         ft 

Weekly 
Wages 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Totals 

per  cent 

$  1-  9 ...  . 

26 
32 

4 

16 

11 

6 

1 

7 
7 

5 

2 

56 
50 
11 

47.46 

10-14 

42.37 

15-19 

1 

9.32 

20-24 

.85 

25  + 

Totals. .  . 

62 

34 

14 

6 

2 

118 

100.00 

Per  cent .  .  . 

52.5 

28.8 

11.9 

5.1 

1.7 

100.0 

The  figures  relating  to  the  proportion  of  separation  of  native  and  foreign 
born  women  who  were  childless,  as  indicated  by  the  above  tables  of  women 
wage  earners,  is  practically  the  same,  53.4  per  cent  for  the  former  group,  and 
52.5  per  cent  for  the  latter.  In  all,  there  were  434  children  involved,  of  which 
346  were  of  native  mothers  and  88  of  foreign  mothers.  When  we  consider 
the  children  of  mothers  receiving  a  wage  below  the  line  of  minimum  sub- 
sistence we  find  that  there  were  149  such  children  of  native  mothers  and  53 
of  foreign  mothers.  It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  the  foreign  women  re- 
ceived less  than  a  subsistence  wage  in  47.46  per  cent  of  the  cases  as  com- 
pared with  37.93  per  cent  in  this  w^ge  group  of  native  parentage. 


In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  foreign  women  more  frequently  receive 
less  than  a  minimum  subsistence  wage  than  native  women,  and  that  the 
latter  go  to  work  as  the  family  increases  and  the  economic  pressure  makes 
work  necessary  in  order  to  piece  out  wages  rather  than  because  of  inde- 
pendence from  home  responsibilities. 


RECOMMENDATIONS. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  living  costs  are  constantly  fluctuating,  and  that 
this  fluctuation  determines  the  value  of  a  wage  in  relation  to  the  main- 
tenance cost  of  the  workers,  no  minimum  wage  established  by  statute  is 
adequate.  Wage  boards  with  powers  to  make  adjustments  in  accordance 
with  changes  in  the  cost  of  essential  commodities — food,  shelter  and  cloth- 
ing— are  therefore  the  only  instrumentalities  through  which  a  fair  living 
wage  scale  could  be  determined  and  maintained. 

Hours  of  labor,  while  regulated  by  law,  are  evidently  not  wholly  under 
control,  and  should  therefore  be  subjected  to  a  careful  method  of  reporting 
which  would  furnish  data  relative  to  the  number  of  hours  of  weekly  em- 
ployment for  every  woman  in  the  industries  of  the  state  of  Minnesota. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  7,200  children  were  found  dependent,  or  partly 
dependent  upon  the  earnings  of  their  mothers,  the  state  or  local  authorities 
should  undertake  a  careful  investigation  of  all  such  children  with  a  view  to  de- 
termining the  conditions  under  which  such  children  are  living  and  the 
effect  that  the  mother's  employment  has  upon  the  well-being  of  the  child. 
Such  a  study  would  result  in  the  development  of  a  constructive  plan  of 
service  in  the  interest  of  thousands  of  the  state's  children  whose  mothers 
are  engaged  as  wage  earners  outside  of  their  homes. 

A  study  of  the  conditions  of  labor  turnover  and  its  causes  would  reveal 
the  condition  of  work,  the  amount  of  Illness,  etc.,  due  to  industrial  condi- 
tions, and  might  lead  to  the  establishment  of  working  hours  and  other 
working  conditions  more  conducive  to  steady  employment  and  a  reduction  in 
the  labor  turnover. 

Since  so  many  women  with  children  have  been  found  employed,  a  study 
of  the  period  of  unemployment  preceding  and  following  childbirth  and  the 
effect  of  these  periods  of  unemployment  upon  the  morbidity  and  mortality 
rates  of  the  babies  should  be  made  in  order  to  make  possible  the  establish- 
ment of  definite  periods  of  unemployment  of  working  women  prior  to  and 
after  childbirth. 


3^ 


CONCLUSIONS. 

A  careful  analysis  of  the  data  presented  in  the  present  report  warrants 
the  following  conclusions: 

1.  Seventeen  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-nine  women  workers  out 
of  a  total  of  51,361  or  34.05  per  cent  received  less  than  a  minimum  sub- 
sistence wage  and  19,244  or  37.49  per  cent  of  these  51,361  wage  earners 
received  a  "minimum  subsistence"  wage. 

2.  Out  of  a  total  of  51,361  women  wage  earners,  28,683  or  55.8  per 
cent  contribute  out  of  their  earnings  tow^ards  the  support  of  some  one  or 
more  persons  in  their  family  and  this  is  true  particularly  of  deserted,  wid- 
owed, married  and  divorced  women,  as  indicated  in  the  tables. 

3.  There  were  7,206  children  of  less  than  working  age  dependent 
upon  the  earnings  of  the  3,779  mothers  employed  who  were  included  in  this 
study  of  the  child  population  of  a  city  of  25,000  people. 

4.  The  cities  draw  more  frequently  upon  married  women  for  their 
industries  and  other  extra  domestic  occupations  than  the  smaller  com- 
munities. 

5.  The  highest  wages  are  received  more  frequently  by  women  between 
22  and  35  than  at  any  other  period,  and  the  period  after  35  years  show  a 
very  rapid  decline  in  the  wage  standard.  The  best  wage  standards  found 
were  those  prevailing  in  the  clerical  occupations  such  as  bookkeeping, 
stenography,  clerks,  cashiers,  etc.  The  skilled  trades  such  as  printing, 
sewing,  machine  operating  showed  no  particular  tendency  towards  better 
wage  standards. 

6.  While  we  cannot  draw  any  positive  conclusions  as  to  the  rate  of 
increase  in  wages  that  had  taken  place  during  the  war,  it  is  clear  that  a 
disproportionate  number  of  women  were  receiving  a  wage  below  the  mini- 
mum of  subsistence  and  that  these  low  wages  were  frequently  needed  to 
assist  in  the  support  of  the  family  of  the  wage  earner. 

7.  There  was  a  slightly  larger  proportion  of  foreign  married  women 
employed  than  native  women  of  the  same  marital  group  and  the  largest 
proportion  of  the  women  workers  who  had  been  married,  was  living  in  a 
normal  marital  state  while  working.  Three  times  as  large  a  proportion  of 
widowed  foreign  women  was  working  as  compared  with  the  native  women 
of  the  same  groups  but  there  was  about  four  times  a  greater  proportion  of 
divorced  native  women  than  foreign  women  of  the  same  marital  group. 

8.  The  native  women  are  employed  at  comparatively  higher  wages 
than  the  foreign  women  and  the  foreign  married  women  enter  gainful  occu- 
pations more  frequently  when  they  have  children  than  do  the  native  women, 
showing,  perhaps,  that  economic  necessity  is  the  cause  of  employment  in  a 
large  number  of  cases.  , 

9.  The  hours  of  work  were  on  the  average  longer  in  the  counties 
outside  of  the  three  largest  cities  and  the  groups  of  occupations  classed 
as  service  showed  the  longest  hours,  particularly  in  the  counties  outside  the 
largest  cities.  Of  the  cities,  Minneapolis  showed  the  largest  proportion  of 
workers  in  service  employed  during  long  hours.  On  the  whole  there  seemed 
to  be  an  excessive  proportion  of  workers  employed  for  over  60  hours  per 
week. 


35 


SYNDICATE  PRINTING  CO. 

Minneapolis,  Minn, 

1920 


36 


\ 


UNIVERSITY  OP  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY  ^"^iSY, 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE^ON-  THP  T  a=-„  ^ 
^    ^  STAMPED  BELOW^^''  ""^^ 

DEC  13 1921 


1SW*^| 


MAR  13  1991 


20w-ll,'20 


Oaylord  Bros. 

Makers 
Syracuse.  N.  Y. 
PAT.  JIN.  21. 1808 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


C03125m7M 


417961 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


